| Summary: | Introduction
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death accounting for about
0.48 million deaths in the US every year. Across the socioeconomic status (SES)
gradient smoking prevalence differs greatly, with those of lower SES smoking at much
higher rates than those of higher SES. Previous studies have shown relationships
between socioeconomic status, financial strain, and smoking. However, little research
has explored the possibility that financial strain might mediate the relationship
between socioeconomic status and smoking. Thus, the goal of the current study
was to determine whether financial strain was a mediating factor in the relationship
between socioeconomic status and smoking.
Methods
Participants (N=238) were primarily female (67.6%) and African-American
adults (51.7%) from the Dallas metropolitan area. The majority of the sample
reported that they did not currently smoke (n=164). Participants who reported
currently smoking at baseline (n=74) smoked an average of 9.96 (SD=10.79)
cigarettes per day.
Results
Analyses revealed that financial strain partially mediates the relationship
between socioeconomic status and smoking status. Additionally, financial strain
was found to significantly partially mediate the relationship between socioeconomic
status and cigarettes smoked prospectively over the next 7 days.
Conclusions
Overall, findings suggest that greater financial strain may be one factor
that links SES with current smoking and smoking level among those who smoke.
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