Correlates of Cigarette Initiation and Regular Use Onset Among Biracial Youth: Social Learning and Control Theories

Biracial youth are an understudied population with elevated risk for early cigarette involvement. We examined when cigarette initiation and onset of regular smoking occur, and whether modifiable social learning theory (peer substance use, deviant affiliation, household smoking) and social control theory (parent child relationship, family cohesion, school discrimination, school rejection, general acceptance) mechanisms are associated with these transitions across biracial subgroups. We used National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health Waves I to IV. The analytic sample of 12,563 adolescents who self-identified as Asian, Black, Indigenous, White, biracial Black-White, Indigenous-White, and White-Hispanic youth. Discrete time survival models estimated age specific hazards of first whole cigarette use and hazards of regular smoking onset conditional on initiation. Initiation timing varied by racialized group, with biracial youth generally showing patterns intermediate to their monoracial peers. Social control variables were associated with initiation, with the strongest effects in early adolescence and variation by racialized group. Social learning variables were most consistently associated with progression to regular smoking, particularly soon after initiation, with effects declining over time. Prevention efforts should prioritize strengthening social bonds and acceptance in early adolescence to reduce initiation and address household and peer smoking exposures after initiation to prevent escalation, with tailoring by subgroup.