1. The Relationship Between Psychological Distress and the Initiation of Tobacco Use among Young Adults 18 to 29 Years
Sarah Mendez, MPH & Marie Boman-Davis, PhD, MPH
School of Health & Human Services, National University
Background Methods Results
Conclusion

2. Background
Psychological distress has been linked to higher prevalence of smoking (Jamal et al., 2015).
Increasing amounts of young adults, ages 18 to 29, are initiating tobacco use (Boyko et al., 2015).
Smoking initiation can be attributed to stressors such as anxiety while serving in the military (Thandi & Fear, 2017).
Purpose: Examine the relationship between psychological distress and lifetime smoking among young adults age years after adjusting for military service, education attainment, and race/ethnicity using data from the California Health Interview Survey, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 2016.  

3. Methods
Unweighted Code
Weighted Code

4. Results
Young adults that experienced psychological distress in the last year had about twice the odds of ever smoking in their lifetime compared to those who did not experience psychological distress (Unweighted: AOR 2.04, 95% CI=1.61 – 2.56; Weighted: AOR 1.84, 95% CI (Not Displayed)).
Table 1. Logistic Regression Analysis (Unweighted) of Lifetime Smoking, Psychological Distress, Socio-Demographic and Other Characteristics of California Respondents Years (N=2,802), California Health Interview Survey, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 2016

5. Conclusion & References
There is a significant and positive relationship between psychological distress and lifetime smoking among young adults in California.
Future studies should investigate the relationship between current smoking status and psychological distress in the U.S.
Boyko, E. J., Trone, D. W., Peterson, A. V., Jacobson, I. G., Littman, A. J., Maynard, C., Bricker, J. B. (2015). Longitudinal investigation of smoking initiation and relapse among younger and older US military personnel. The American Journal of Public Health, 105, 1220–1229. 
Jamal, A., Homa, D. M., O’Connor, E., Babb, S. D., Caraballo, R. S., Singh, T., Hu, S. S. (2015). Current cigarette smoking among adults - United States, MMWR: Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, 64, 1233–1240. 
Thandi, G., & Fear, N. T. (2017). Factors associated with smoking behaviour change in UK military personnel. Occupational Medicine, 67, 712–714.