The association between optimism, tobacco smoking and substance abuse in high school students

Introduction: Optimism is associated with many health behaviors, but there is little research investigating the association between optimism and tobacco smoking and substance abuse in adolescents. This study aimed to investigate this research gap. Participants (N=۱,۱۰۴) were selected based on multi-stage proportional cluster sampling method.Method: Cigarette and hookah smoking status, illicit drug use, optimism, and relevant covariates were measured using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using ordinal logistic regression.Results: After adjustment, higher optimism scores were a protective factor against being in advanced cigarette smoking stages (OR=۰.۸۸, ۹۵% Confidence Interval (CI):۰.۸۴-۰.۹۱), hookah smoking (OR=۰.۹۱, ۹۵% CI:۰.۸۸-۰.۹۴), and illicit drugs use (OR=۰.۹۰, ۹۵% CI: ۰.۸۵-۰.۹۵). Also, results showed that negative-stability and negative-globality domains of optimism were significantly higher in smokers at advanced stages and illicit drug users.Conclusion: Further research should investigate the effects of optimism on transition in cigarette and hookah smoking stages.

Keywords:

Substance Abuse , Optimistic Explanatory Style , Adolescent , High School Student , Cigarette Smoking , Hookah Smoking