Discrimination and Risky Health Behaviors: Examining the Association between Sources of Gender Discrimination and Tobacco Use Among Adolescent Girls

We examined the association between gender discrimination and tobacco use among 725 adolescent girls in the United States. Gender discrimination referred to the interpersonal prejudice individuals experienced because of their gender and included multiple forms (overt, subtle) and sources (teenagers, school personnel, and other important adults). Gender discrimination was measured with five subscales: overt gender discrimination from teenagers, overt gender discrimination from school personnel, overt gender discrimination from other important adults, subtle denial of gender discrimination, and subtle negative treatment. Tobacco use included four groups: no use, combustible tobacco use only, nicotine vaping use only, and dual use of these products. Multinomial logistic regression showed that overt and subtle forms of gender discrimination were positively associated with lifetime dual use compared to non-tobacco use. Overt discrimination from school personnel was positively associated with past month dual use compared to non-tobacco use. Social class and race/ethnicity moderated the associations, highlighting intersectionality.