Role of perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity in cigarette smoking among english-speaking latinx adults living in the United States

The Latinx/Hispanic (hereafter, Latinx) population in the United States (US) experiences significant tobacco-related health disparities. Extant work suggests social determinants of health (SDoH) such as perceived discrimination is an individual differences factor for cigarette smoking behavior among Latinx individuals who smoke cigarettes. Other research has suggested sensitivity to internal cues, referred to as anxiety sensitivity, is related to smoking among Latinx adults, but this work has not explored whether anxiety sensitivity may moderate the association between perceived discrimination and smoking behavior.

Therefore, the present investigation sought to explore the main and interactive association of perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity in relation to cigarettes smoked per day, severity of problems experienced when quitting, and perceived barriers for smoking cessation among 338 English-speaking Latinx individuals living in the US (M_age = 35.5 years; SD = 8.65; age range 18–61; 37.3% female) who smoke cigarettes.

Results supported statistically significant main effects for perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity in relation to increased severity of problems experienced when quitting and perceived barriers for smoking cessation. These associations were evident after adjusting for a sociodemographic covariates.

Overall, the present investigation suggests that both perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity are important constructs relevant to understanding smoking processes among Latinx adults who smoke cigarettes and should be integrated in theoretical models of smoking among this population.