Social Capital and Smoking Among Asian American Men: An Exploratory Study

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 102; no. S2; pp. S212 - S221
• Main Authors: SHIJIAN LI, DELVA, Jorge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Public Health Association 01.05.2012
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adult; Adults; Asian Americans; Asian Americans - statistics & numerical data; Attitude to Health - ethnology; Biological and medical sciences; Cultural Characteristics; Family Relations; Filipino Americans; General aspects; Health behavior; Health Behavior - ethnology; Humans; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Mental Health - ethnology; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Miscellaneous; Neighborhoods; Participation; Polls & surveys; Prevalence; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Research and Practice; Risk-Taking; Smoking; Smoking - ethnology; Social capital; Social Values - ethnology; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic factors; Studies; Teenagers; Tobacco; Tobacco, tobacco smoking; Toxicology; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; North America; America; United States > US; Human; Ethnic origin; Tobacco; Asiatic; American; Tobacco smoking; Authorized capital; Male; Public health
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300442

We examined how different dimensions of social capital (i.e., family and friend connections, neighborhood and family cohesion, family conflict) were associated with smoking behavior among a nationally representative sample of Asian American men and whether the associations varied by ethnic group. The sample consisted of 998 adult Asian American men who participated in the National Latino and Asian American Survey from 2002 to 2003. We conducted weighted multivariate logistic regressions on data for the sample and for each of 4 ethnic subgroups (Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Other). Vietnamese American men had the highest prevalence of current smoking; Chinese American men, the lowest. After controlling for sociodemographics, socioeconomic status, acculturation, and perceived discrimination, neighborhood cohesion was inversely associated with smoking among Asian American men, and family and friend connections and family cohesion were not. An exception was family cohesion, which was associated with increased odds of smoking among Filipino American men. The relationship between social capital and smoking among Asian American men varied according to specific dimensions of social capital and was ethnicity specific. These findings highlight the need for smoking prevention and cessation interventions to take into consideration the heterogeneity that exists among Asian Americans.