Abstract

Objectives: This paper presents a literature review that examines the relationship between socioeconomic status
and women’s smoking behavior in the United States.
Methods: A literature search was conducted among national and international peer-reviewed literature in the
following databases: Academic Search Premier, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Education Resource Information
Center (ERIC), MEDLINE, and PsycARTICLES. A manual search was performed to obtain relevant articles
within selected journals.
Results: Of the 9 reviewed studies, 5 indicated that a low education level is a causal factor which has a significant
relationship with smoking behavior among women. 6 of the reviewed studies provided evidence that household
income level plays an important role in women’s cigarette smoking. Finally, 2 of the reviewed studies indicated
that women’s smoking behavior is influenced by their marital status.
Conclusion: The findings from this literature review indicate that future smoking prevention efforts targeting
women might benefit from incorporating education, household income, and marital situation into
multi-component programs that focus on the differences in socioeconomic status.

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