Tamar M J Antin

Institute for Scientific Analysis · Center for Critical Public Health

The search for disconfirming evidence, or negative cases, is often considered a valuable strategy for assessing the credibility or validity of qualitative research claims. This article draws on a multimethod qualitative research project to illustrate how a search for disconfirming evidence evolved from a check on the validity of findings to a strat...

Pathways and perceptions of e-cigarette use among youth in California Authors: Catherine A. Hess*, Tamar Antin, Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, CA, USA Keywords: E-cigarettes, trajectories Significance: Among the primary concerns regarding e-cigarettes is that they may serve as a gateway to smoking, and th...

Background. The mainstream tobacco field in the United States tends to situate youth as passive, particularly in terms of their susceptibility to industry manipulation and peer pressure. However, failing to acknowledge youths' agency overlooks the important meanings youth ascribe to their tobacco use and how those meanings are shaped by the circums...

Most people who smoke cigarettes begin young. Consequently, public health efforts directed at youth are a priority. The increasing popularity of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) among youth in the United States has raised concerns in the public health community about the potential of ENDS to renormalize cigarette smoking and perpetuate n...

Research suggests that many people in the US are misinformed about the relative harms of various tobacco and nicotine products. Concerns about public misinformation have often been framed as relevant only to the degree that public health institutions agree to prioritize conventional approaches to tobacco harm reduction. We argue that while the info...

Introduction To address gaps in existing research, the current study used a mixed‐methods approach to describe, contextualise and understand harm perceptions of vaping nicotine relative to cigarette smoking and associations with nicotine and tobacco (NT) use among young adults who identify their genders and sexualities in ways that classify them as...

Introduction: Cigarette smoking is among the most harmful ways to consume nicotine and tends to be concentrated among socially marginalized groups of people, including sexual and gender minorities (SGM). Though some approaches to tobacco control in the U.S. are harm reduction strategies (e.g. smoke-free environments), often abstinence is an explic...

Background: Cigarette smoking is among the most harmful ways to consume nicotine and, troublingly, tends to be concentrated among socially marginalized groups of people, including those who identify their sexualities and genders in ways that classify them as sexual and gender minorities (SGM). Though some approaches to tobacco control in the United...

We investigated the perceived impact of COVID-19 on changes in tobacco and nicotine (NT) use among sexual and gender minority (SGM) young adults. We used a mixed methods approach that included closed- and open-ended survey questions and in-depth interviews. Participants were 53 SGM young adults in California who reported current or past cigarette s...

To answer this special issue provocation, Is Lesbian Identity Obsolete? we analyzed interviews with people who had identified at some point in their lives as lesbians, or as women/femmes who were attracted to women – some of them part of the Baby Boomer generation and some part of the Millennial generation. Participants from both generations reject...

The controversy of tobacco harm reduction in the United States persists despite evidence that an important audience of tobacco prevention and control, i.e., the people who use or are likely to use nicotine and tobacco products, are engaging in practices that may be considered harm reduction. Despite this, a significant proportion of the US tobacco...

In this study, we analyze 50 interviews with racially diverse, predominantly low-income, LGBTQ participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rooted in intersectional theory that conceptualizes identities as shaped by interlocking forms of oppression and privilege, we compared interviews with “Baby Boomers” to those with “Millennial” participan...

We investigated associations between experiences with police discrimination, police mistrust, and substance use in a convenience sample of 237 sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults in California. In a cross‐sectional survey, collected between January 2016 and July 2017, participants reported substance use, lifetime experiences with SGM‐related po...

In recent years, high profile cases involving the deadly use of force on men and boys of color have raised concerns about police interactions with people of color. In general, these highly publicized cases have consolidated the view that men of color are the primary targets. While this focus is important, it has led, nevertheless, to an overshadowi...

Transgender (trans) adolescents consistently report higher rates of adverse mental health outcomes compared to their cisgender peers. Parental support is a recognized adolescent protective factor; however, little is known about the specific parental behaviors that trans adolescents perceive as most or least supportive. To address this gap, we analy...

While research on youthful drinking is extensive, the literature has been geographically skewed towards urban settings. As a potential corrective to this, our focus in this paper is on youthful drinking in rural Denmark. Based on 22 in-depth interviews with young drinkers, this paper explores the drinking practices of rural youth. More specifically...

Introduction: Existing research on youth's adoption of alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS) has focused on identifying pathways of nicotine product use, specifically examining whether vaping encourages progression to smoking. Few studies have considered other pathways of initiation. Qualitative studies suggest that meanings of vaping vary...

This article is concerned with normative conceptions of health structuring tobacco control strategies designed to “denormalize” tobacco use. Analysis of 201 interviews with non-heterosexual and/or non-cisgender adults in California revealed that participants implicated tobacco use in exacerbating health inequities and perpetuating harmful narrative...

Introduction Existing research on youth’s adoption of alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS) has focused on identifying pathways of nicotine product use, specifically examining whether vaping encourages progression to smoking. Few studies have considered other pathways of initiation. Qualitative studies suggest that meanings of vaping vary si...

Research on intoxicating substances and gender has developed considerably in the last 30 years, especially in the social sciences as feminist scholars highlighted the contradictory discourses about young women’s intoxication. Nevertheless, there still remain significant gaps if we are to fully understand the role and meaning of intoxication for all...

Aim This methodological article aims to describe the use of comparative social media platforms within a photo-elicitation (PE) activity as part of a multi-method interview-based study on the gendered meanings of alcohol intoxication among young adults (aged 18–25 years, n = 200). Method Early interviews revealed social media as a particularly enga...

Aims: We investigated how intersections of being a racial minority (i.e. being African American) and economically disadvantaged (i.e. housing insecurity) may influence experiences with discrimination and perceptions of smoking-related stigma among sexual and gender minority (SGM) current and former smokers. Methods: Survey data were collected from...

Alcohol use, misuse, and intoxication have long been associated with men and masculinity. In different cultures and at different times, researchers have consistently found significant gender differences in drinking and intoxication prevalence rates. However, more recently gender differences appear to be diminishing. Nevertheless, while this may be...

Since the 1990s, social scientists have rejected notions of ethnicity as something static and discrete, instead highlighting the context-dependent and fluid nature of multiple identities. In spite of these developments, researchers within the substance use fields continue to assess ethnic group categories in ways that suggest little critical reflec...

Research suggests that Black youth are less likely to use e-cigarettes than their white counterparts, yet little is known as to why. We examined perceptions of e-cigarettes among Black young adults (ages 18–25) to explore the meanings these youth ascribe to e-cigarettes and the role that identity plays in how these devices are viewed. Analysis of i...

In the last ten years, an eclectic mix of electronic nicotine delivery products (‘e-cigarettes’) and practices have proliferated in the US with little restriction, producing a vast array of vaping mechanisms, flavors, and styles. At the same time, anti-tobacco movements have targeted e-cigarettes as a threat to public health and advocated for restr...

Tobacco denormalization is a widely accepted tobacco control strategy, shaping policies and programs throughout the United States as well as globally. In spite of widespread beliefs about the effectiveness of tobacco denormalization approaches, concerns about their emphasis on stigmatization have emerged. Social science research on smoking stigma r...

Although the population-level success of tobacco denormalization is widely accepted, it remains unclear whether these strategies alleviate health inequities for sexual and gender minorities. The high risk of smoking among sexual and gender minorities together with research that documents a relationship between stigma-related processes and smoking p...

Although the population-level success of tobacco denormalization is widely accepted, it remains unclear whether these strategies alleviate health inequities for sexual and gender minorities. The high risk of smoking among sexual and gender minorities together with research that documents a relationship between stigma-related processes and smoking p...

The social meanings constructed about psychoactive substances and their uses are varied and conflicting, context dependent, and invariably gendered. The three articles by Enefalk, Harder and Demant, and Bailey, Griffin, and Shankar in this special issue all raise questions about how context and gender intersect to contribute to a gendered stigma of...

Purpose To understand the experiences and processes of smoking cessation, maintenance, and relapse for pregnant and postpartum adolescents, whose perspectives and needs might be different from other age groups. Methods We conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with 52 pregnant and postpartum adolescents using tools of grounded theory analysi...

This study, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, examines psychosocial mediators to explain discrepancies in past-30-day drinking between African American and White college student drinkers in the United States. Between 2008 and 2010, 5,845 college drinkers completed an online survey about their alcohol use. Using laten...

This paper considers drug classifications and terms widely used in US survey research, and compares these to classifications and terms used by drug users. We begin with a critical review of drug classification systems, including those oriented to public policy and health services as well as survey research. We then consider the results of a pile so...

As obesity persists in the United States, many public health interventions have been conceived to encourage people to change their diets. These interventions are based on encouraging people to prioritize healthier alternatives in food choice. However a consideration of the existing but limited literature on food choice for diverse populations rende...

Internet-based alcohol misuse prevention programs are now used by many universities. One popular 2- to 3-hour online course known as AlcoholEdu for College is typically required for all incoming freshmen and thus constitutes a campus-level strategy to reduce student alcohol misuse. Multi-campus study to evaluate the effectiveness of an Internet-bas...

AlcoholEdu for College is a 2- to 3-hour online course for incoming college freshmen. This study was the first multicampus trial to examine effects of AlcoholEdu for College on alcohol-related problems among freshmen. Thirty universities participated in the study. Fifteen were randomly assigned to receive AlcoholEdu, and the other 15 were assigned...

Obesity and binge drinking are important health issues for young adults in the United States. Several studies have investigated the relationship between these constructs with mixed results. One possible explanation to disentangle this relationship suggests that how people feel about their weight, regardless of their actual weight, may explain some...

Since the turn of the century, obesity has emerged in the public consciousness as an important public health concern. While the illnesses considered to be associated with obesity are pressing, related individual-level interventions may not be sufficient and may also stigmatize overweight and obese individuals as deficient. Weight-related stigma has...

Wine is increasing in popularity among young adults in the United States. Previous research has shown that when young adults consume wine, they typically do so in moderation. This article reports on the findings of an exploratory, qualitative study conducted in 2006 that investigated factors associated with moderate wine drinking occasions among yo...

To compare and combine qualitative and quantitative data collected from respondents in a mixed methods study, the research team developed a relational database to merge survey responses stored and analyzed in SPSS and semistructured interview responses stored and analyzed in the qualitative software package ATLAS.ti. The process of developing the d...

California's 1995 Smoke-Free Workplace Act-Assembly Bill 13 (AB 13)-was extended to bars in 1998. This paper examines the challenges faced by officials responsible for implementing and enforcing the law. As part of a series of studies evaluating AB 13 in bars, researchers conducted confidential in-depth interviews with 35 state, county and municipa...

Some of the highest smoking rates in the U.S. have been reported among Southeast Asians. The largest numbers of Southeast Asians reside in California. While California has a comprehensive and generally effective tobacco control program, it is unclear how immigrant groups learn of this public health effort. In a study of tobacco norms and practices...

California's Smoke-Free Workplace Act was extended to include bars in 1998. While the majority of bars in the state have become smoke free, in many bars patrons and staff continue to smoke despite the law. The authors present findings from a study which assessed cultural factors related to continued smoking in bars in the city of San Francisco. In...

The California smokefree workplace ordinance (AB13) has been well-received, even in bars where deeply established traditions of smoking may exist. However, a closer investigation of bars where indoor smoking persists revealed that bar workers in some ethnic minority communities continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in their workplaces. To iden...

This paper considers social roles and relationships of the patrons, staff and owners of bars as critical factors determining adherence to public health policies, and specifically California's smokefree workplace law. Specific elements of social organization in bars affecting health policy include the community within which the bar is set, the uniqu...

This article assesses the drinking norms and practices of two generations of Southeast Asians in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Researchers included quantity and frequency measures of current alcohol use and binge drinking and open-ended questions on drinking norms and behaviors in a mixed-method study of tobacco use. The study generated data thr...

In recent decades, California has lead the nation in tobacco control efforts, with high taxes on tobacco products and state laws prohibiting, for example, tobacco advertising in various settings, tobacco sales to minors and smoking in workplaces and other public spaces. Currently, California has the second lowest adult and third lowest adolescent s...

Multiple studies have found that, compared with employees in other settings, workers in bars and restaurants have been exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke, putting them at increased risk for health complications. Among these bar employees are many women of low socioeconomic status (SES). Smoke free workplace ordinances have been extended to...

This article is the result of a project conducted during my tenure with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Before my hire, the director of EFNEP had hired a geographic information system (GIS) technician to create a GIS to spatially depict EFNEP clients' accessibility to food resources. By visually representing the relations...