Gender-based Differences in Associations between Attitude and Self-esteem with Smoking Behavior among Adolescents: A Secondary Analysis Applying Bayesian Nonparametric Functional Latent Variable Model

Different patterns of gender-based relationships between attitude toward smoking and self-esteem with smoking behavior have reported. However, such associations may be much more complex than a simply supposed linear relationship. We aimed to propose a method of providing hand details on the total and gender-based scenarios of the relationships between attitude toward smoking and self-esteem with smoking.
A secondary analysis conducted on a data set obtained for a cross-sectional study among 4,905 male and female high school students in Tabriz, Iran (2012). We randomly selected 196 classes in a clustering process and invited all the students in the classes to participate in the study; then, investigated the relationship between smoking with attitude and self-esteem, as explanatory variables. We also found the data to fit a nonlinear functional relationship and to be free from normal condition due to applying Bayesian nonparametric functional latent variable model.
Among all the students, attitude was found as the only variable with conceptual effect on smoking (p The relationships between self-esteem and attitude with smoking may not be necessarily linear. Being at the high levels of self-esteem among boys may lead to the reduced levels of smoking, and among girls may result in the increased level of the behavior.