Socioeconomic Disadvantage, Parenting Responsibility, and Women’s Smoking in the United States

Abstract

Objectives. We carried out analyses of smoking in relation to poverty and child care responsibility among women aged 18-54 years residing in the United States.Methods. With data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we assessed the interaction effects of poverty and living with young children on maternal smoking behavior among 61700 women aged 18-54 years in 4 different racial/ethnic groups.Results. For non-White racial/ethnic groups, the prevalence of smoking among women with small children in the household was lower than that among women without small children. However, White women were more likely to smoke if they were poor and living with small children (odds ratio = 1.14, 95% confidence interval = 1,03, 1.26).Conclusions. These results suggest that child care responsibility confers an increased risk of smoking among low-income White women.