Background

Adolescent cigarette smoking has continued to decline, whereas electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has increased dramatically among youth. Nicotine use in any form, even at low levels, during adolescence can have adverse consequences, particularly for low-income individuals. To elucidate potential early intervention targets, this study examined childhood executive control (EC), a set of cognitive processes for directing attention and behavior, in relation to adolescent cigarette and e-cigarette onset, testing for differential prediction by poverty level.

Method

Participants were 313 children (51% female, 64% European American) recruited in a small city in the Midwestern United States beginning in 2006 and then followed into adolescence between ages 14 and 16 years. EC was measured in the laboratory with performance-based tasks when children were age 5 years, 3 months. Self-reports of cigarette onset and e-cigarette onset were obtained in adolescence (M^age = 15.65 years). Overall, 24% of the sample was at or below the poverty line.

Results

Cigarette onset was higher in the poverty group (17%) than in the non-poverty (8%) group, but e-cigarette onset did not differ by poverty level (36% poverty versus 38% non-poverty). Multiple group structural equation modeling revealed a statistically significant group difference such that EC ability was a significant negative predictor of e-cigarette onset for poverty but not for non-poverty youth. A similar group difference was evident as a trend for cigarette onset.

Conclusions

Because EC has been shown to be modifiable, early interventions to improve EC for children living in poverty might help prevent adolescent e-cigarette onset.

中文翻译：

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儿童执行控制与青少年卷烟和电子烟使用的关联：贫困水平的适度测试

背景

青少年吸烟率持续下降，而青少年电子烟（电子烟）使用量急剧增加。任何形式的尼古丁使用，即使是低水平的，在青春期都会产生不利后果，尤其是对低收入人群。为了阐明潜在的早期干预目标，本研究检查了儿童执行控制 (EC)，这是一组用于引导注意力和行为的认知过程，与青少年卷烟和电子烟的发作有关，测试了贫困水平的差异预测。

方法

参与者是 2006 年开始在美国中西部的一个小城市招募的 313 名儿童（51% 为女性，64% 为欧洲裔美国人），随后进入 14 至 16 岁的青春期。当儿童 5 岁 3 个月大时，EC 在实验室以基于绩效的任务进行测量。在青春期（ M^年龄 = 15.65 岁）获得了吸烟和电子烟发病的自我报告。总体而言，24% 的样本处于或低于贫困线。

结果

贫困组（17%）的卷烟发病率高于非贫困组（8%），但电子烟的发病率并未因贫困程度而异（36% 的贫困与 38% 的非贫困）。多组结构方程模型揭示了具有统计学意义的组间差异，即 EC 能力是电子烟发病率对贫困的显着负预测因子，而不是非贫困青年的显着负预测因子。类似的组差异作为卷烟发作的趋势是明显的。

结论

由于 EC 已被证明是可以修改的，因此早期干预以改善贫困儿童的 EC 可能有助于预防青少年电子烟的发作。