Has the distribution of smoking across young adult transition milestones changed over the past 20 years? Evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study (1996) and Next Steps (2015-16)

T Gagné; I Schoon; A Sacker

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100941

Has the distribution of smoking across young adult transition milestones changed over the past 20 years? Evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study (1996) and Next Steps (2015-16)

SSM Popul Health. 2021 Oct 9:16:100941. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100941. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

T Gagné^{1

2}, I Schoon³, A Sacker^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
² International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health, UK.
³ Institute of Education, University College London, UK.

Abstract

Introduction: Transitions into work and family life during young adulthood exacerbate differences in the progression of smoking over the life-course. Few have considered how changes in smoking and the transition to adulthood in the past two decades have influenced these relationships over time.

Methods: We compared the distribution of smoking at ages 25-26 across transition milestones among 3764 men and 4568 women in the 1970 British Cohort study (1996) and 3426 men and 4281 women in the Next Steps study (2015-16). We regressed occasional and daily smoking status on educational attainment, economic activity, living arrangements, relationship status, and parenthood, adjusting for family background, socio-demographics, and smoking history.

Results: There were few differences in associations between the 1996 and 2015-16 samples. Young men and women were less likely to smoke if they had higher education, were homeowners, and cohabited with a partner. Women were less likely to smoke occasionally if they were full-time students, and men were less likely to smoke daily if they were employed full-time and not living with children. However, comparing associations in 2015-16 to 1996: 1) in men, higher education had a weaker negative association and living with a partner had a stronger negative association with daily smoking; 2) in women, independently renting had a weaker positive association with daily smoking.

Conclusions: Despite considerable changes in smoking and the transition to adulthood over the past two decades, the distribution of smoking at ages 25-26 across transition milestones has been relatively stable during this time period in Great Britain.

Keywords: 1970 British cohort; Great Britain; Next Steps cohort; Smoking; Transition to adulthood; Young adults.