JSM 2004 - Toronto

Abstract #300685

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Activity Number: 152
Type: Topic Contributed
Date/Time: Monday, August 9, 2004 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
Sponsor: Section on Government Statistics
Abstract - #300685
Title: The Use of Classification Trees in Profiling Smokers and Smoking Intention among Adolescents
Author(s): Panagiota Kitsantas*+ and Trent Moore and David Sly
Companies: East Carolina University and Florida State University and University of Miami
Address: Dept. of Mathematics, Greenville, NC, 27858,
Keywords: classification trees ; smokers ; smoking intention ; adolescents
Abstract:

We employed a novel statistical method, classification trees, to explore the interactive nature of various predictor variables in profiling smokers (situational, current, and established), and nonsmokers who intend to smoke. The data (N=3,610) were generated from cross-sectional surveys of the Florida Anti-Tobacco Media Evaluation. Four classification trees were built based on the type of smoker and various groups of predictor variables such as sociodemographic, peer influence, social and health risks, role-modeling, and parental monitoring. The results support the important role of peer influence in smoking among adolescents. The classifier for the intention model suggests that social and health risks are important in the context of peer influence. A current smoker was profiled as one who frequently consumed alcohol and had friends that smoked. Knowing where to illegally purchase cigarettes was essential in the classification of both established and situational smokers. This study demonstrates the use of classification trees in profiling smokers and provides important information in identifying adolescents who intend to smoke.

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