Tobacco Use Among Arab American Youth

Arab American Youth: Tobacco Use and Intervention

Michigan has the 10th highest smoking rate in the nation. Smoking rates are also very high in the Middle East and in Arab American families. The purpose of this study is to learn about tobacco use in Michigan Arab American youth ages 14 to 18. The study will evaluate why some young people start smoking and others do not. The study will also test an educational program designed to encourage young people to either quit tobacco use or to avoid it.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tobacco Use Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Modified Project Toward No Tobacco Use

Detailed Description

Cigarette smoking is the chief avoidable cause of death and disease in Michigan, the United States, and the world. In 1996, 25.9% of the Michigan adult population smoked cigarettes; Michigan has the 10th highest smoking rate in the nation. When the indirect costs of lost income due to smoking-related illnesses and premature death are added to the cost of medical care, tobacco use costs Michigan citizens more than $2.6 billion per year (Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), 1996). Contributing to tobacco use statistics in Michigan is a rapidly growing Arab American immigrant population. Studies have shown cigarette smoking rates in Middle-Eastern adolescents range from 33% to 58%. This study will examine cultural, personal, social, and environmental forces operating in Arab American youths at risk for habitual tobacco use. The study will also test the effects of a smoking cessation/prevention intervention on smoking behavior.

The settings for this study are the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) Teen Health Center, which services almost 2,500 youth visits each year, and local high schools with a significant population of Arab American youth. The majority of the people served by the clinic are poor, under-educated, live in extended families of 3 to 5 adults, are immigrants, and speak Arabic as a first language. A total of 4,000 adolescents over 14 years old will be asked to provide information on demographic and cultural variables, self-esteem, stress, family and peer tobacco use, intention to use tobacco, history of tobacco use, initial stage of change, and perceived health.

Youths with the highest risk for tobacco use will be randomly assigned to either a Modified Project Toward No Tobacco Use (Project TNT) intervention or a wait list control group. Project TNT, the precursor to the Arab American-specific modified Project TNT, was designed to target the primary causes of tobacco use among adolescents and has been shown to be effective in diverse cultural groups. The modified Project TNT consists of weekly 40-minute sessions with a health educator over 4 weeks. Bilingual health educators will deliver the intervention in a small group (four to six adolescents) or classroom context. Follow-up data will be collected at 3, 6, and 12 months after the program is completed. Youth assigned to the wait list control group will participate in the modified Project TNT after the Month 6 follow-up data is collected from the first group.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 2300

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Dearborn, Michigan, United States, 48124
      • Arab American Center for Economic & Social Services

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

2300 + school-based Arab American adolescents (14-18 years) were recruited for participation in this study of tobacco use.

1700 students provided detailed health and tobacco use histories. 616 students were assigned by classroom to a smoking cessation intervention or to a class on health.

Description

Inclusion Criteria

• 14-18 years
• Self-identify as Arab American
• Attendee of a teen health clinic or high school

Exclusion Criteria

• older than 18 years
• does not identify as Arab or Arab American

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Wayne State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Virginia H Rice, PhD, RN, Wayne State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2000
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2005
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 28, 2003
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2003
• First Posted (Estimate): April 29, 2003

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 5, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 3, 2017
• Last Verified: April 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Adolescents; Smoking cessation; Risk factors; Youth; Smoking prevention; Arab Americans
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Tobacco Use Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 5R01HD37498-3

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No