Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe beliefs about the influence of genetic and environmental factors on tobacco use among African Americans and to identify factors that are independently associated with these beliefs.
Design and setting: Participants were 94 adult African American men and women who were enrolled in a study on race, genetics, and smoking.
Main outcome measures: Beliefs about factors involved in smoking initiation and cessation were evaluated by self-report during a structured telephone survey.
Results: Smoking status was not associated significantly with beliefs about the influence of genetic or environmental factors; however, gender and education level were associated significantly with beliefs about the influence of environmental factors. Men (beta = -1.71, P = .01) reported significantly greater beliefs about the influence of environmental factors on tobacco use compared to women. Higher education was also associated with greater beliefs about the influence of environmental factors (beta = 1.81, P = .01). Only income level was associated significantly with beliefs about the influence of genetic factors. Respondents with incomes < or = dollar 20,000 reported significantly greater beliefs about the influence of genetic factors compared to those with higher incomes (beta = -.92, P = .02).
Conclusions: These results suggest that African Americans believe that biological factors such as genes play a limited role in tobacco use behaviors. Sociodemographic factors, rather than tobacco use, are important to beliefs about tobacco use among African Americans.