Associations of childhood executive control with adolescent cigarette and E-cigarette use: Tests of moderation by poverty level

• Published in: Addictive behaviors Vol. 119; p. 106923
• Main Authors: Alex Mason, W., Patwardhan, Irina, Fleming, Charles B., Stevens, Amy L., James, Tiffany D., Nelson, Jennifer Mize, Espy, Kimberly Andrews, Nelson, Timothy D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2021
• Subjects: Adolescence; Cigarette smoking; E-cigarette use; Executive control; Poverty; Adolescence; Poverty; Cigarette smoking; E-cigarette use; Executive control
• ISSN: 0306-4603; 1873-6327
• DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106923

•Cigarette smoking onset was higher in poverty (17%) than non-poverty (8%) youth.•e-cigarette use onset was comparable in poverty (36%) and non-poverty (38%) youth.•Preschool executive control predicted e-cigarette onset only for youth in poverty.•A similar group trend was observed for cigarette smoking onset.
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.
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 (Mage = 15.65 years). Overall, 24% of the sample was at or below the poverty line.
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.
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.