Prospective Associations Between Youth Assets, Neighborhood Characteristics and No-Tobacco Use Among Youth: Differences by Gender Eleni L. Tolma, Roy F. Oman, Sara K. Vesely, Cheryl B. Aspy, and Lindsay Boeckman Abstract The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between youth assets and neighborhood environmental variables and future no-tobacco use among youth; examining differences by gender. Five waves of annual data were collected from 1111 youth randomly selected to participate in the Youth Asset Study (YAS). A marginal logistic regression model using all ive waves of tobacco use, gender, and their interaction was used to compare the change in tobacco use over time between males and females. Individual assets, asset score total, the six neighborhood variables, and the environment composite score assessed at waves 1-4 were analyzed as time-varying and lagged while controlling for demographics to predict no-tobacco use at waves 2-5. Among 1093 youth (Mean age=14.3; 53% female; 40% white, 28% Hispanic, 23% African American, 9% other), the percentage of youth smoking increased signiicantly from baseline to wave 5 (4 years after baseline) for both females and males. Among females, sixteen assets were prospectively related with no-tobacco use whereas among males, fourteen assets were prospectively related with no-tobacco use. There were no signiicant differences between genders, and the neighborhood environment overall did not have an impact in the relationship between youth assets and future no-tobacco use. Introduction Tobacco use remains the largest preventable cause of death and disease for both men and women. More than 1,000 people die every day by cigarette use alone (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Although progress has been made, approximately 25% of high-school students and adults in the U.S. continue to smoke regularly. According to a recent Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010a) 26% of high-school students reported current tobacco use. Overall the prevalence of tobacco use is higher among male students (29.8%) compared to female students (21.8%). Adolescents can quickly develop nicotine addiction, and the evidence shows the majority of people who begin using tobacco products on a regular basis have great dificulty breaking their nicotine dependency (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Therefore, it is imperative that tobacco use prevention programming focuses on youth. Most studies comparing smoking onset between boys and girls have focused on risk factors rather than protective factors and the results have been inconsistent. For instance, one study (Tucker, Martinez, Ellicson, & Edelen, 2008) suggested there were more similarities than differences between males and females in regard to factors associated with subsequent smoking behavior during adolescence and the transition to young adulthood (e.g., pro-smoking social inluence, academic performance and delinquency). On the other hand, previous studies on risk factors for smoking have found that socialization effects tend to be stronger for females (van den Bree, Whitmer, & Pickworth, 2004), whereas other studies found that delinquent behavior has been identiied as a stronger predictor of experimentation and of regular smoking for males than for females (van den Bree et al., 2004). There is some evidence that low school achievement is associated with experimental smoking for males only; however, it has an impact on onset and progression to regular smoking for both genders (van den Bree et al., 2004). Factors that may protect youth from initiating smoking have been studied less frequently. The concept of protective factors stems from the work of Fergus and Zimmerman (2005) on adolescent resilience. Researchers have identiied three models of resilience: compensatory, protective and challenge. In the protective factor model assets or resources moderate or reduce the effects of a risk on a negative outcome. For instance, the relationship between poverty and violent behavior is reduced by youth with high levels of social support, which serves as a protective factor. In our case, one cross-sectional study found that general life skills were negatively associated with current and future smoking for females only. Moreover, Continuing Education Contact Hour Opportunity *Eleni L. Tolma MPH, Ph.D; Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion Sciences: College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, CHB Rm. 473 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73190. Phone: (405) 271-2017 x46757; Fax: 405-271-2099; Email: Eleni-Tolma@ouhsc.edu ESG: Member at Large Roy F. Oman, Ph.D; Professor, Department of Health Promotion Sciences: College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, CHB Rm. 475 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73190. Phone: (405) 271-2017 x46752; Fax: 405- 271-2099; Email: Roy-Oman@ouhsc.edu Sara K. Vesely, Ph.D; Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, Rm. 358 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73190. Phone: (405) 271-2229; Fax: 405-271-2068; Email: Sara-Vesely@ouhsc.edu Cheryl B. Aspy, Ph.D; Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 900 N.E. 10th St., FMC 2102 Oklahoma City, OK 73104. Phone: (405) 271-8000; Fax: 405-271-2784; Email: Cheryl-Aspy@ouhsc.edu Lindsay Boeckman, MS; Instructor/Biostatistician, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center P.O. Box 26901, Rm. 309 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73190. Phone: (405) 271- 2229; Fax: 405-271-2068; Email: Lindsay-Boeckman@ouhsc. edu * Corresponding Author Spring 2013, Vol. 45, No. 1 The Health Educator 11