The United States is becoming a multicultural society. In culturally diverse areas such as Southern California, adolescents in varying stages of acculturation are exposed to the social influences of their peers, the U.S. society, and the cultures of origin. Cultural values from multiple societies interact and influence adolescents' attitudes, beliefs, values, and health behaviors. Some of these cultural values may be risk factors for adolescent smoking, and some of these values may be protective factors. As the U.S. becomes increasingly multicultural, other cultures throughout the world also are being increasingly influenced by the U.S. culture. Societies that were previous isolated from Western influences, such as Mainland China, now are exposed to movies, music, television, and other influences from the United States and other Western cultures. Unfortunately, U.S. the media includes frequent portrayals of adolescents engaging in risk behaviors, including smoking. Little is known about how cultural values influence adolescents' decisions about smoking. A better understanding of the role of cultural values in adolescent smoking could lead to the development of smoking prevention interventions to teach adolescents ways to remain true to the values of their cultures without resorting to unhealthy behaviors such as smoking. This cross-cultural study will investigate the role of cultural values in the smoking uptake process. This study will analyze longitudinal data from two ongoing studies: a multicultural sample of adolescents in California, and a sample of Chines adolescents in Wuhan, China. Both of these data sources will include longitudinal data from initial cohorts of 7th-grade students, and both datasets will include assessments of cultural values and smoking behavior, This study will determine which cultural values are associated with the risk of smoking initiation, occasional smoking, and/or progression to established smoking among adolescents in these two countries, and it will determine whether these associations are consistent across cultures or culture-specific. Specific goals of the study are to include a Multi-ethnic Cultural Values Scale, along with measures of smoking behavior, in ongoing longitudinal surveys of adolescents in California and Wuhan, China, and to conduct statistical analyses to determine how cultural values increase or decrease the risk of smoking in these tow groups of adolescents.
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