Smoking Behaviors of General Educational Development (GED) Recipients.
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Martinez
SA, Hasan A, Beebe LA, Cheney MK.
Smoking Behaviors of
General Educational Development (GED) Recipients.
Subst Use Misuse. 2021 Jul 12:1-8. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2021.1949614. Epub
ahead of print. PMID: 34253161.
Objective.
Cigarette smoking is inversely associated with education, and despite this
gradient effect, individuals with a General Educational Development (GED)
diploma, obtained through a high school equivalency test, have the highest
smoking prevalence. Considered the high school equivalency credential, it is
unclear why individuals with a GED have a substantially higher smoking
prevalence compared to high school graduates and dropouts. We conducted a
qualitative study to understand life experiences, tobacco use patterns, and
perceptions of tobacco among GED smokers and attitudes and behaviors around
smoking cessation.
Methods.
We recruited 40 GED smokers aged 18 to 35 years and conducted surveys and
semi-structured individual interviews. Transcripts were independently coded,
then coding differences were resolved and reviewed by a third team member. We
independently determined themes within and between codes and met to determine
final themes.
Results.
GED recipients had many early life experiences and characteristics that made
them highly vulnerable to tobacco dependence. With perceived high cognitive
abilities, GED smokers were knowledgeable of many evidence-based smoking
cessation strategies and were aware of health risks. Health risks and the
financial burden of smoking were motivation to quit. The majority were
uninterested or lacked confidence that nicotine replacement therapy,
medications, counseling, or the quitline could help them quit. Nearly all were
enthusiastic and confident that financial incentives had the potential to help
them quit.
Conclusions.
Research is needed to determine whether financial incentives could improve
smoking cessation outcomes in this unique population with an unequal burden of
smoking.
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