The Impact of Multiple Forms of Violence Exposure on Cigarette and E-Cigarette Use in High School-Attending Boys and Girls.

Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

To examine the relationship between forms of violence exposure, past 30-day cigarette or e-cigarette use, and moderation by sex, we used data from the 2021 and 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The forms of violence exposure utilized were bullying, cyberbullying, sexual violence and domestic violence. We hypothesized that each type of violence would independently increase the frequency of past 30-day cigarette and e-cigarette use. The 2021 YRBS surveyed = 17,232 high school students and the 2023 YRBS surveyed = 20,103. Past 30-day cigarette and e-cigarette use frequencies were independently regressed onto each form of violence in a series of quasi-Poisson survey-weighted models. Each form of violence was associated with increased past 30-day frequency of cigarette and e-cigarette use. In 2021, sex significantly moderated the effect of each form of violence on past 30-day cigarette use, evidencing a stronger link among boys than girls. The effect of violence exposure on past 30-day e-cigarette use did not significantly vary across boys and girls. For 2023, there were no significant sex moderations from models of past 30-day cigarette use and past 30-day e-cigarette use. Violence exposure is a significant correlate for tobacco use among youth. Results align with the growing gender parity in substance use. Violence prevention, early detection and intervention programs targeting adolescents may effectively reduce tobacco use in this population.