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Using logistic and multiple regression, we examined the association between hostility, level of depressive symptoms, and smoking in a sample of 1699 ethnically diverse students in California. Self-reports were collected twice from each student, at the beginning of the 6th and 7th grade years. Among 6th graders who had not smoked, depressive symptoms and hostility were associated with smoking initiation by the 7th grade. Among those students who had already tried smoking, increases in depressive symptoms and hostility were associated with more frequent smoking. The association between hostility and smoking was stronger for students reporting higher levels of depressive symptoms.

A study is conducted among 1699 students in California from varied backgrounds in the sixth and seventh grades to identify the relationship between hostility, intensity of depressive symptoms and smoking. The results show that the relationship between hostility and smoking was more intense among students who indicate intense level of depressive symptoms.