Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of School Children (i = 1,454) Aged 13 at Baseline, Irbid, Jordan, 2008–2011. Cigarette-Smoking Initiators Versus Noninitiators
| Potential Determinants of Initiation | Total N (%) | Initiators (n = 495), n (%)* | Noninitiators (n = 959), n (%)* | p value** | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographics | Males (vs. females) | 670 (45.3) | 292 (37.2) | 378 (62.8) | .00 |
| Public school (vs. private) | 1216 (71.7) | 445 (84.4) | 771 (66.4) | .00 | |
| Age, M (SD)a | 12.7 (0.6) | 12.8 (0.5) | 12.7 (0.6) | .22 | |
| Density Index, M (SD) | 1.7 (1.0) | 1.7 (1.0) | 1.6 (1.0) | .77 | |
| Father’s education (> High school) | 520 (39.9) | 160 (34.5) | 360 (42.2) | .01 | |
| Mother’s education (>High school) | 356 (26.9) | 105 (23.3) | 251 (28.4) | .05 | |
| Daily pocket money (≥0.50 JOD)b | 261 (21.1) | 83 (19.9) | 178 (21.5) | .48 | |
| Ever-smoke waterpipe | 298 (22.2) | 142 (30.6) | 156 (18.6) | .00 | |
| Participate in sports | 1038 (75.0) | 371 (78.9) | 667 (73.2) | .03 | |
| Social influences | Seen ads promoting smoking last 30 days | 670 (45.4) | 249 (51.5) | 421 (42.9) | .01 |
| Seen ads against smoking last 30 days | 1141 (79.7) | 383 (77.8) | 758 (80.5) | .23 | |
| Seen cigarette package warnings | 1275 (87.4) | 442 (88.8) | 833 (86.8) | .30 | |
| Family warned about dangers of cigarettes | 1121 (76.5) | 374 (76.6) | 747 (76.4) | .91 | |
| Family knows smoke waterpipe | 166 (57.2) | 77 (55.0) | 89 (58.8) | .50 | |
| Father and/or mother smoke cigarettes | 733 (49.7) | 281 (58.6) | 452 (46.0) | .00 | |
| Sibling(s) smoke cigarettes | 237 (16.1) | 103 (20.4) | 134 (14.2) | .01 | |
| Friends smoke cigarettes | 247 (17.1) | 114 (21.9) | 133 (15.1) | .01 | |
| Seen actors smoking in media | 1245 (87.1) | 418 (85.2) | 827 (87.9) | .17 | |
| Teachers smoke around students | 492 (30.0) | 209 (40.6) | 283 (25.6) | .00 | |
| Attitudes | Believe cigarettes are bad for health | 1351 (93.6) | 456 (92.2) | 895 (94.2) | .16 |
| Believe students who smoke have more friends | 318 (39.8) | 120 (39.7) | 198 (39.8) | .98 | |
| Believe students who smoke cigarettes are more attractive | 503 (48.3) | 191 (54.7) | 312 (45.3) | .01 | |
| Believe cigarettes effect weight (lose weight) | 840 (57.5) | 283 (56.4) | 557 (58.0) | .56 | |
| Believe it is easy to stop smoking cigarettes after year or so | 425 (29.8) | 149 (29.3) | 276 (30.1) | .77 | |
| Relations | Relationship with parents (not good) | 39 (2.8) | 14 (2.8) | 25 (2.8) | .95 |
| Relationship with siblings (not good) | 47 (3.1) | 15 (3.3) | 32 (3.0) | .70 | |
| Relationship with classmates (not good) | 56 (3.9) | 17 (3.7) | 39 (4.0) | .08 | |
| Relationship with teachers (not good) | 75 (5.49) | 31 (7.2) | 44 (4.8) | .06 | |
| Would accept cigarette from friends | 41 (3.5) | 23 (5.5) | 18 (2.7) | .01 | |
| Intention to start smoking cigarettes next year | 120 (9.5) | 48 (11.0) | 72 (8.8) | .25 | |
aFor continuous variables, the OR approximates the risk change for every 1 year increase in age or one unit increase in the DI.
bIn Jordanian Dinars (JOD) (1JOD = 1.41USD).
*Standardized proportions are reported to account for complex sampling design.
**Chi-square test for equality of proportions p value reported.