Income Predictors of Smoking Cessation among Hispanics
Journal of Health Psychology: An Interdisciplinary, International Journal
Published online on April 12, 2013
Abstract
Higher socioeconomic status smokers are more successful at smoking cessation. Few studies have investigated the prospective association between multiple measures of socioeconomic status and Hispanic smoking cessation. We assessed four measures to examine which predicted smoking cessation. Hispanics without debt had 18.5 times higher odds of 30-day cessation (odds ratio = 18.47, 95% confidence interval = 3.26–104.66, p < .01) and 11-fold increased odds of 7-day point prevalence abstinence (odds ratio = 11.32, 95% confidence interval = 2.45–52.24, p < .01) at 3-month follow-up. Yearly income, education, work status, money to see a doctor, and money for medications were not predictive of smoking cessation. Debt level may better measure socioeconomic inequities by capturing objective and subjective social status associated with Hispanic smoking cessation.