The social and demographic correlates of smoking among young adults in Maryland

Objectives: We examine the utility of pooling data from the 1987 through 1994 Maryland Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys in order to increase sample size, and we investigate the social and demographic correlates of smoking in Maryland among 18-24-year-olds. Methods: The data are from 1,714 subjects who were between 18 and 24 years of age and the principle method was multiple logistic regression. Results: African Americans are less likely to smoke than Caucasians, and people with some college or more are less likely to smoke than those with a high school diploma/GED or less. Men who are in an informal sexual union (cohabitation) are more likely to smoke than men who are not. There is a negative association between being a student and smoking among all young women, which does not exist for men enrolled in postsecondary schools. There is no gender difference in the level of smoking, despite the fact that the predictors of smoking are somewhat different for men and women. Conclusions: Pooling data from several BRFSS studies is a useful way to increase sample size. Analyses of the correlates of smoking among people from a narrow age range is a useful way of highlighting the unique correlates of smoking across the life course.