Some personality correlates of the ability to stop smoking cigarettes.

4 groups of male college students were compared on the Edwards EPPS: (a) Ss who never smoked, (b) current cigarette smokers who never tried to stop smoking, (c) current smokers who tried to stop smoking but failed, and (d) former smokers who had succeeded in breaking the smoking habit. An effort to stop smoking was associated with low-deference and high-aggression needs. Success in such an effort was associated with these 2 variables plus low-affiliation, low-change, and high-achievement needs. Concern with the consequences of smoking to health as a stated reason for making an effort to stop smoking was not associated with success in that effort. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of smoking on bone mass and the rates of bone loss among elderly Japanese-American men

Bone density and bone loss rates were examined among Japanese-American men categorized as current cigarette smokers, past smokers, and nonsmokers. The design included a retrospective study of smoking and bone density and a prospective study of current smoking and bone loss rates. The mean length of follow-up was 5 years; the setting was the island of Oahu. The subjects included 1303 men in the Hawaii Osteoporosis Study, 51-82 years old at their initial examination. Twenty percent were current smokers, 45% past smokers, and 35% had never smoked. Their bone density was measured at the distal and proximal radius and calcaneus using single photon absorptiometry. Compared with never smokers, current and past smokers had significantly lower bone density, especially in the predominantly cancellous calcaneus (4.8 and 4.3% lower, respectively) and partially trabecular distal radius (1.8 and 3.3% lower, respectively). The magnitude of the smoking effect was linked strongly to the duration of smoking and also to the number of cigarettes smoked. Bone loss rates subsequent to the initial measurement were greater in the current smokers than the never smokers (20.5, 27.2, and 9.7% greater at the calcaneus, distal, and proximal radius, respectively) but the differences did not achieve significance. Smokers of more than one pack per day had 32.0, 77.6, and 30.7% greater loss rates than never smokers in these same sites; the difference achieved significance at the distal radius. The results from the distal radius suggest that these smokers may increase their fracture risk 10-30% per decade of smoking. The adverse effects of smoking appeared to be greater in cancellous than cortical bone.     

Attributes of heavy vs. occasional marijuana smokers in a college population

We sought to assess whether college students who smoked marijuana heavily were distinguishable from students who had used the drug only occasionally. We compared 45 long-term heavy marijuana smokers (individuals who had smoked daily for at least 2 years) with 44 "occasional" smokers (individuals who had never smoked more than 10 times in a month at any time in their lives), drawn from the student populations at two Boston-area colleges. measures included a questionnaire covering a range of demographic, drug use, and subjective items; the Rand Mental Health Inventory; and both the Axis I and Axis II sections of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Heavy smokers reported higher rates of use of other substances, especially hallucinogens and cocaine, and they described greater subjective impairment of memory and motivation than occasional smokers; however, on a wide range of demographic, family background, and mental health measures, the heavy smokers proved almost indistinguishable from occasional smokers. Even the heaviest college marijuana smokers exhibit few demographic or psychiatric features that distinguish them from students who smoke only occasionally.     

A prospective study of cigarette smoking initiation during college: Chinese and Korean American students.

Objective: The present study was a prospective investigation of baseline influences on initial smoking and transition to established smoking among college students who had not smoked prior to college. Design: Included were 267 participants in a longitudinal study of tobacco use. Students of Chinese (52%) or Korean (48%) descent were enrolled during their freshman year in college. Data for the present study were collected during four annual in-person interviews. Main outcome measures: (1) Initial use of a cigarette reflected having first smoked a cigarette (more than a puff) during college. (2) Established smoking was defined as having smoked at least 100 cigarettes. Results: Over the course of the study, 25% of baseline never-smokers tried their first cigarette, and 9% became established smokers. Overall, men were significantly more likely to experiment and progress to established smoking. Baseline alcohol and drug use, behavioral undercontrol, and parental smoking predicted smoking experimentation but not established smoking. Students of Korean ethnicity were more likely to become established smokers. However, acculturation was not a significant predictor of experimentation or established smoking after accounting for the effects of other predictors. Conclusion: These findings suggest a need for efforts to prevent smoking uptake among Asian American college students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Oral contraceptive use and hemodynamic, lipid, and fibrinogen responses to smoking and stress in women.

The effects of acute smoking and oral contraceptive (OC) use on cardiovascular, lipid, and fibrinogen stress responses were examined in 52 female smokers and nonsmokers, half of whom were using OCs. Women smoked or sham-smoked a cigarette and then performed 2 stressful tasks. Stress elicited increases in total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and in triglycerides among women who smoked, and in fibrinogen among all women. Smokers who used OCs had greater blood pressure increases to smoking and to stress than did smokers who did not use OCs. OC use was also associated with enhanced total peripheral resistance stress responses among women who smoked and cardiac output stress responses among women who sham-smoked. Results suggest that OC use moderates cardiovascular reactivity in smokers but not nonsmokers, enhancing vascular responsivity to smoking combined with stress and myocardial responsivity to stress alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with smoking and the reasons for stopping in Maori and Europeans: a comparative study

AIM: To compare the prevalence of smoking, factors associated with smoking, ex-smokers and reasons for stopping in Maori and Europeans aged 10 years and older. METHODS: Demographic and smoking data were obtained by personal interview using a standard questionnaire and assisted by Maori health carers. Report-back meetings were held. RESULTS: The smoking status in 713 subjects (Maori 52.5%, Europeans 47.5%) was: current smokers (Maori 48.1%, Europeans 19.8%); never smoked (Maori 28.1%, Europeans 47.5%); ex-smokers (Maori 23.8%, Europeans 32.7%). Of Maori smokers, 66.1% were women whereas of European smokers 47.8% were women. Significantly more Maori aged 10 to 29 years smoked than Europeans (p = 0.0002). Nineteen percent of smokers smoked < 5 cigarette equivalents per day, 68.8% smoked 5 to 20, and 12.2% smoked > 20 cigarettes per day. There was no gender difference in cigarette consumption. Maoridom (p = 0.00001), a less skilled occupation (p = 0.0008), lower income (< or = $15,000 p = 0.002) and alcohol consumption (p = 0.00001) were significantly associated with current smoking. Reasons for giving up smoking were health (majority), awareness of risks (Europeans), financial (Maori men), pregnancy (Maori women), social unacceptability (European women), on advice of medical practitioner (minority). CONCLUSIONS: Smoking remains a major problem in New Zealand, particularly in Maori. Stricter anti-tobacco measures than already exist, greater input from medical practitioners and particularly ongoing participation by Maori health carers should lead to a further decline in smoking.     

Morphology and ultrastructure of the antennal chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors of worker Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki

Data on respiratory symptoms and smoking for 2749 white American high school students from two linked surveys, separated by a one year lapse, are presented. There was a significantly higher likelihood of smoking at second survey among those who had initial symptoms. (There had been no educational efforts linking smoking and respiratory symptoms in the interim.) This difference was almost entirely contributed by those who had been ex-smokers and light (less than or equal to four cigarettes/day) smokers at first survey. Initial ex-smokers and light smokers also had, overall, least fixed smoking habits. Whatever the initial smoking or symptom status, symptoms at second survey were far more likely with current smoking. Controlling for initial symptom and smoking status, the gradient of symptoms between current smokers and non-smokers was over two and a half fold, except among those who had had symptoms and had not been smoking, and whose initial symptoms presumably arose from causes other than current cigarette smoking. Even among that group, symptoms at second survey were half as likely again among those who reported having become smokers (p less than-001). There were also strong linear trends of increased likelihood of symptoms with increased numbers of cigarettes smoked. Symptom rates at second survey of those who had symptoms a year earlier, and who stopped smoking during the year, were not as low as for those who also stopped smoking, but who had not had initial symptoms, suggesting that symptoms associated with smoking were not completely reversible in the time interval of this study. The difference, however, was not significant.     

Smoking behavior and smoking history of tobacco chippers.

Nicotine produces dependence in almost all cigarette smokers. 65 chippers (anomalous smokers who smoke regularly but at very low levels [1–5 cigarettes/day]) were compared with 72 matched regular smokers (20–40 cigarettes/day). Despite having smoked an average of 46,000 cigarettes in 19 yrs of smoking, chippers demonstrated little sign of nicotine dependence. They reported frequent casual abstinence from smoking without withdrawal symptoms, smoked their 1st cigarette of the day hours after waking, and scored low on a modified Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire, a measure of tobacco dependence. Although most chippers had never smoked heavily, a small subgroup of chippers reported previous extended periods of heavy smoking, which suggests that some people may be able to overcome dependence while continuing to smoke. These "converted chippers" could not be distinguished from "native chippers" on the basis of their current smoking behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relative importance of socially induced tension and behavioral contagion for smoking behavior.

Assigned 144 college students to 1 of 4 social situations in which Ss were led to believe that they were to be evaluated and had to wait in a room with the evaluators or that they were waiting with other Ss, who were actually confederates and who engaged the real S in friendly conversation. In these situations the confederates were either smoking or not smoking. Results indicate that, although the anxiety manipulation was effective in raising Ss' arousal levels (Ss' self-reports and observers' subjective ratings) in the evaluation condition, only the presence of other people smoking significantly increased the number of Ss who smoked in the situations; this result applied only to "light" smokers. However, the presence of confederates who were smoking significantly increased the number of minutes the Ss smoked during the condition for both light and heavy smokers, suggesting a ceiling effect for heavy smokers. Tension reduction is not viewed as an adequate explanation for cigarette smoking behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Human ecology and tropical medicine]

Previous work with the autoradiographic mutant lymphocyte assay has provided information about the time-course of development of hprt mutations and the persistence of detectable mutant cells in human subjects following therapeutic exposures to genotoxic agents. These early studies also revealed elevations in frequencies of mutant cells in pretreatment blood samples from patients who were current tobacco smokers, but no information was available on former smokers. In the present study, blood samples were obtained from 21 healthy former tobacco smokers who had quit smoking at least 1 year before sampling, 42 subjects who had never smoked, and 23 tobacco smokers. Plasma from all samples was tested for cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine. Current smokers were categorized as heavy smokers (> or = 10 cigarettes per day, cotinine > or = 90 ng/ml plasma) and light smokers (< 10/day, cotinine < 90 ng/ml). Lymphocytes from the blood samples were isolated, cryopreserved, and later thawed and assayed with the autoradiographic hprt assay. The 21 former tobacco smokers had a mean variant (mutant) frequency (Vf +/- standard error) of 1.97 (+/-0.13) per million evaluatable cells. The Vf of 42 subjects who had never smoked was 1.74 (+/-0.13) x 10(-6), not significantly different from the former smokers. The smokers had Vfs of 8.09 (+/-0.78) x 10(-6) for 18 heavy smokers and 5.22 (+/-1.02) x 10(-6) for five light smokers. The two categories of smokers had frequencies of mutant cells significantly different from each other, and each was significantly higher than non-smokers and former smokers (P < 0.05). Vfs were significantly correlated with both cotinine concentrations and the number of cigarettes smoked per day, P < 0.001. This study demonstrates the sensitivity of the autoradiographic hprt assay for detecting mutagenic effects related to chronic low-level exposures to genotoxins, and indicates that this assay is more likely to detect the effects of recent rather than past exposures.     

Prospective study of effect of switching from cigarettes to pipes or cigars on mortality from three smoking related diseases

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the extent to which cigarette smokers who switch to cigars or pipes alter their risk of dying of three-smoking related diseases-lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease, and chronic obstructive lung disease. DESIGN: A prospective study of 21520 men aged 35-64 years when recruited in 1975-82 with detailed history of smoking and measurement of carboxyhaemoglobin. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Notification of deaths (to 1993) classified by cause. RESULTS: Pipe and cigar smokers who had switched from cigarettes over 20 years before entry to the study smoked less tobacco than cigarette smokers (8.1 g/day v 20 g/day), but they had the same consumption as pipe and cigar smokers who had never smoked cigarettes (8.1 g) and had higher carboxyhaemoglobin saturations (1.2% v 1.0%, P < 0.001), indicating that they inhaled tobacco smoke to a greater extent. They had a 51% higher risk of dying of the three smoking related diseases than pipe or cigar smokers who had never smoked cigarettes (relative risk 1.51; 95% confidence interval 0.96 to 2.38), a 68% higher risk than lifelong non-smokers (1.68; 1.16 to 2.45), a 57% higher risk than former cigarette smokers who gave up smoking over 20 years before entry (1.57; 1.04 to 2.38), and a 46% lower risk than continuing cigarette smokers (0.54; 0.38 to 0.77). CONCLUSION: Cigarette smokers who have difficulty in giving up smoking altogether are better off changing to cigars or pipes than continuing to smoke cigarettes. Much of the effect is due to the reduction in the quantity of tobacco smoked, and some is due to inhaling less. Men who switch do not, however, achieve the lower risk of pipe and cigar smokers who have never smoked cigarettes. All pipe and cigar smokers have a greater risk of lung cancer than lifelong non-smokers or former smokers.     

Usefulness of CO measurement in expired air in the study of tobacco consumption by youths and adolescents]

The objective of our work was to know the relationship between carbon monoxide (CO) levels in expired air and smoking habits among school youths and the relationships that can be established between CO level and some peculiar attitudes regarding consume by youths, such as the number of cigarettes, inhaling technique and time elapsed since the last cigarette was smoked. The study, of cross-sectional design, was performed in two high school centres and a total of 777 students who answered a questionnaire and had an expired air CO sample in their own schoolroom tested were enrolled. CO determination in the schoolroom was a simple and attainable technique for the pupils, as only 32 cases (4.1%) had to be excluded due to poor collaboration or poor technique. The mean (mean and SD) CO level in the control group (n = 247), made up by non-smokers nor tobacco tasters was 4.75 (2.46) ppm, statistically lower than among smokers (p < 0.001), but with no differences compared with non smokers (n = 563), who had a CO level of 5.23 (3.4) ppm. This figure was also lower (p < 0.001) than that obtained in the smokers (12.6 [6.3] ppm), made up of 214 pupils, with a mean consume of 2.7 (1.69) cigarettes/day. Among smokers the mean abstinence time since the last cigarette was smoked was 26 (44) minutes and 54% of them admitted to have smoked in the last 10 minutes. CO in expired air correlated significantly with the number of smoked cigarettes (r = 0.58; p < 0.001). Likewise, it correlated significantly with abstinence minutes (r = -0.38; p < 0.001). The time required for CO level to decrease below 10 ppm was 140 minutes in four cases and 120 minutes in 33 cases.     

The effects of platelet-derived growth factor-BB on healing of the rabbit medial collateral ligament. An in vivo study

Cigarette smoking poses significant risk to mother and infant during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Recruitment of pregnant smokers to intervention studies has often been reactive and has excluded certain subgroups of women, such as those who have recently quit smoking. In this study, we examined smoking patterns among a proactively recruited sample of women presenting to six urban community maternity clinics. The current report describes the patterns of smoking in this population of ethnoculturally diverse low-income urban pregnant women and examines differences across subgroups. The majority of the total sample in the current study reported that they had never smoked. Of the total, 30% reported having "ever" smoked and 16% were current smokers. Of the group of "ever" smokers, 18% quit greater than 12 months before pregnancy, 5% quit 0-12 months before pregnancy and 23% quit during this pregnancy. On the average, women who quit during pregnancy did so about 5 weeks after diagnosis. Of those women who continued to smoke during pregnancy, the average number of cigarettes smoked per day was 10 +/- 8. Differences were found in smoking patterns across the ethnocultural subgroups. Recruitment represents the first and one of the most important phases in intervening with pregnant women. Inclusion of both current smokers and recent self-quitters takes the fullest advantage of the window of opportunity to help women quit smoking and remain cigarette free for good.     

Smoker networks and the "typical smoker": A prospective analysis of smoking cessation.

Perceptions of the typical smoker (i.e., prototype) were assessed in a sample of 174 adult smokers when they first joined a cessation clinic and were used to predict smoking status at 6-month follow-up. As predicted, consistent with a prototype-based model of health risk behavior (F. X. Gibbons & M. Gerrard; see record 83-01291, in press), smokers with more favorable perceptions were more likely to have relapsed at follow-up. Also as predicted, this prospective effect was moderated by smokers' social networks: Prototypes did not predict status among those who had a lot of friends and family members who smoked, suggesting that these other smokers were inhibiting smokers' attempts to distance themselves psychologically from the prototype. Implications of the results for interventions that use prototypes to discourage smoking are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Respiratory response to cigarette smoking among adolescent smokers: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Because cigarette smoking affects the respiratory system earlier than many other systems of the human body, an attempt was made to identify objective and subjective respiratory problems among adolescent smokers. METHODS: Two studies based on a pulmonary function test (PFT), respiratory symptom assessment, and other smoking-related variables were undertaken. Study 1 involved cigarette smokers (N = 18, 22% males, mean age 18.7 years) from a freshman college class who participated in an acute smoking experiment that involved performing a PFT before and after smoking a single cigarette. Study 2 was performed on a combined group of vocational-technical high school students and freshman college students (N = 44, 48% males, mean age 17.8 years) where PFT parameters, respiratory symptoms, and smoking-related health vulnerability were assessed among smokers vs nonsmokers. RESULTS: In Study 1, the average reduction across PFT parameters was 4.4% and the mean estimated lung age increased from 27.15 to 29.84 years. In Study 2, a consistent trend toward reduction of PFT values among smokers vs nonsmokers was observed; the mean forced expiratory volume in 1 sec/forced vital capacity ratio (90.51% vs 94.59%), peak expiratory flow rate (80.32% vs 92.06%), and flow rate of 50% of forced vital capacity (88.39% vs 102.81%) differed significantly. Significant differences in respiratory symptoms were also observed among smokers vs nonsmokers. CONCLUSIONS: The beginning of respiratory health disorders can be identified among adolescent smokers. These findings might provide important clues on how to improve outcomes from health care provider-based adolescent smoking cessation counseling.     

Effect of dietary protein and environmental temperature on growth performance and water consumption of male broiler chickens

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether smokers outside buildings with work-place smoking bans smoke "harder" than those smoking in social settings. An unobtrusive random observational study of smokers followed by structured interview was used, with 143 smokers taking smoking breaks outside their office buildings and 113 smokers in social settings. The main outcome measurements were number of puffs per cigarette and cigarette smoking duration. The mean number of puffs per cigarette for the office building group was 18.7% greater than that for the social settings group (10.7 +/- 3.2 vs. 8.7 +/- 2.7, t = 5.58, df = 253, p < 0.001); 74.8% of smokers outside offices took more than the mean number of puffs for the group compared to 42.5% of smokers in social settings (chi 2 df 1 = 26.31, p < 0.0001). Mean cigarette smoking duration was 30.4% shorter for the work-place group than the social settings group (3.9 +/- 1.2 minutes vs. 5.6 +/- 2.6 minutes). Of smokers outside offices, 55.2% had a cigarette smoking duration between 3 and 4.59 minutes, while 53.1% of smokers in social settings took > or = 5 minutes to smoke the observed cigarette (chi 2 df 2 = 31.55, p < 0.0001). Smokers who scored at the 75th percentile on the Fagerstrom Tolerance Scale took a mean 9.5 +/- 2.6 puffs per cigarette compared to 9.3 +/- 2.7 puffs by those who scored in the 25th percentile on the scale (t = 0.34, df = 145, p = 0.73). Regardless of degree of nicotine dependency, smokers leaving work-stations to smoke outside buildings smoked their cigarettes nearly 19% "harder" than cigarettes smoked in social settings. The individual and public health benefits of reduced smoking frequency engendered by work-place smoking bans may be lessened by policies which allow smokers to take smoking breaks.     

Sister chromatid exchange and micronucleus frequency in human lymphocytes of 1,650 subjects in an Italian population: II. Contribution of sex, age, and lifestyle

Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronuclei (MN) analysis was carried out on 1,650 healthy individuals living in Pisa and in two nearby small cities, Cascina and Navacchio (Ca-Na). The effect of smoking on SCEs was linearly correlated with the number of cigarettes per day, and an increase of 7.3% SCEs was detectable for as few cigarettes as 1-10/day. Ex-smokers showed intermediate mean values of SCEs (8.09 +/- 1.88) in comparison with never smokers (7.54 +/- 1.61) and current smokers (8.45 +/- 1.94). Mean values of SCEs of ex-smokers decreased linearly with time of smoking cessation, reaching the mean values of never smokers within 8 years. The extent of SCE decrease was inversely proportional to the number of cigarettes previously smoked. No interaction between smoking habits and coffee or alcohol drinking on SCEs was observed. A borderline (P = 0.053) increase in mean SCE values in coffee drinkers (more than 3 cups/day) was found. The age effect on SCEs was remarkable in Ca-Na, but not in Pisa donors. Job type was not associated with significant modification of mean values of SCEs. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a statistically significant association between the proportion of high frequency cells (HCF) outliers and coffee consumption. Age and sex appeared to be by far the most important variables associated with modifications in MN frequency, which increased by 0.04 per thousand and 0.02 per thousand per year in males and females, respectively. Children and young donors (age < or = 40 years) showed lower MN frequency regardless of sex, whereas sex appeared to determine a significantly higher increase of MN only in females older than 40 years. In contrast, in males the MN rate by age tended to level off after the age of 30-50. MN frequencies of Pisa blue- and white-collar workers were statistically significantly higher than in students (+0.71 and +0.55 per thousand, respectively). Smoking did not determine any increase of MN frequency. A total lack of correlation (P = 0.913) between MN and SCEs was observed.     

Metamotivational dominance and use of tobacco and alcohol among adolescents

This study investigated differences in metamotivational dominance among adolescents who engaged in different amounts of substance use, specifically, whether students who labeled themselves as 'heavy' alcohol consumers or cigarette smokers would be more Paratelic and Negativism Dominant than those who labeled themselves 'nondrinkers' or 'nonsmokers'. 93 secondary school students (Years 9 and 10) participated in the study (68 boys, 25 girls). One-way analyses of variance indicated self-labeled heavy drinkers scored significantly more Paratelic Dominant than nondrinkers, while heavy smokers scored significantly more Paratelic and Negativism Dominant than nonsmokers. Paratelic Dominant adolescents who reported engaging in heavy smoking may have done so because smoking is defined by society as a risky behaviour and so provides arousal. Education and preventive programs that focus on health hazards of smoking may, in fact, increase the likelihood of this behaviour by both individuals who score Paratelic and Negativism Dominant.     

Effect of night smoking, sleep disturbance, and their co-occurrence on smoking outcomes.

Recent evidence suggests that smoking during the night is an indicator of nicotine dependence and predicts smoking cessation failure. Night smokers are likely to experience disturbance to their sleep cycle when they wake to smoke, but we are not aware of the prevalence of night smokers' self-reported sleep disturbance. Because sleep disturbance also predicts smoking cessation failure, we examined how the pre-cessation risk factors of night smoking and sleep disturbance, and their co-occurrence, predict smoking cessation failure in a 6-week double-blind randomized controlled trial examining whether naltrexone augments the efficacy of the nicotine patch (O'Malley et al., 2006). Smokers (N = 385) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse, Reynolds, Monk, Berman, & Kupfer, 1989) and a single item of waking at night to smoke pre-cessation. Smoking status was determined at weeks 1, 6, 24, and 48 weeks after quitting. The two main findings were: (a) night smokers reported significantly greater sleep disturbance than nonnight smokers; and (b) smokers with co-occurring night smoking and sleep disturbance experienced significantly greater risk for smoking than smokers with neither risk factor. Results suggest that individuals who both wake during the night to smoke and report clinically-significant sleep disturbance represent a high-risk group of smokers. Future smoking cessation treatment might incorporate strategies related to managing these smokers' sleep habits and physiological dependence on nicotine in order to bolster their cessation outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploratory examination of the associations among racial and ethnic discrimination, racial climate, and trauma-related symptoms in a college student population.

In this study, we examined the association among perceptions of racial and/or ethnic discrimination, racial climate, and trauma-related symptoms among 289 racially diverse college undergraduates. Study measures included the Perceived Stress Scale, the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist—Civilian Version, and the Racial Climate Scale. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that Asian and Black students reported more frequent experiences of discrimination than did White students. Additionally, the MANOVA indicated that Black students perceived the campus racial climate as being more negative than did White and Asian students. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that when controlling for generic life stress, perceptions of discrimination contributed an additional 10% of variance in trauma-related symptoms for Black students, and racial climate contributed an additional 7% of variance in trauma symptoms for Asian students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)