Postdoctoral Fellow
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Developing the Positive Affect for Cigars (PAC) Scale Among African American Young AdultsCigar smoking is disproportionately prevalent among African American individuals. Cigar smoking prevalence also varies
by cigar type, with African American young adults (ages 18-30 years) having the highest prevalence of little cigar/cigarillo smoking (2.7% in 2019) than other racial/ethnic young adults. General positive affect is associated with cigar smoking among African American young adults. Specific beliefs underlaying this association and whether it varies by cigar product (i.e., large cigars, cigarillos, little cigars) is unknown.
Dr. Phan proposes to develop the Positive Affect for Cigars (PAC) Scale to capture African American young adults’ beliefs related to their interest in smoking each type of cigar. The specific aims are to: 1) explore beliefs about cigar smoking by cigar type among African American young adults, and 2) develop a self-report measure of positive affect towards cigar smoking by cigar type for African American young adults. They will also conduct a series of online surveys to examine the PAC Scale factor structures and begin to test its reliability and validity.
This research will provide a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of African American young adults’ beliefs related to cigar smoking. The PAC Scale will be an important tool for identifying salient beliefs related to interest in each type of cigar among African American young adults. This nuanced understanding of predisposing beliefs will enable the development of health communication interventions to target these beliefs, and ultimately contribute to reducing cigar-related health disparities affecting African American individuals.
