Wilkinson et al. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:332 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/332 between the constructs of interest and cannot establish directionality or causality. Conclusions Our results suggest that interventions designed to prevent smoking among Mexican origin youth may need to address social aspects of acculturation that manifest as shifts in be- havioral norms, paying close attention to gender. Despite the clear genetic determinants of sensation seeking [9], our analyses show that for all three components, greater accul- turation is associated with higher sensation seeking in girls. It is possible that the more gendered roles proscribed in Mexican society compared to the U.S. serve to attenuate how sensation seeking tendencies are realized among girls, in particular with regards behaviors that are traditionally not acceptable among girls, such as smoking. Especially be- cause this relationship is less pronounced for boys among whom we observed a significant association between acculturation and social disinhibition only. While these results might raise questions as to whether more accultu- rated girls simply answer sensation seeking questions differ- ently, thus giving the illusion that they have higher scores on all three scales than their less acculturated counterparts, they also may suggest that health behavior messaging direc- ted at girls of Mexican origin should take into account their general patterns of acculturation and its relationship to how sensation seeking tendencies may manifest. This is particularly crucial for smoking interventions. As the results show, experimentation with cigarettes is associated with sensation seeking. While anti-smoking messaging aimed at tapping into the sensation seeking tendencies of young girls might be effective in more acculturated groups, they might not be as useful in the less acculturated ones. Abbreviations ANOVA: Analysis of variance; DAA: Drug and alcohol attitudes; SES: Socio-economic status; TAS: Thrill and adventure seeking. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions AVW and NLO conceptualized and completed the analysis, interpreted the data and led the writing; AES, MHS and KPG interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript; MLB developed the study design and managed data collection, AVP developed the study design, MRS conceived and managed the study on which the analysis is based. All authors critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content and approved the published version. Acknowledgements We thank the cohort staff for conducting all field interviews and maintaining the high participation rates. We thank the participants for providing the data and their parents for permitting their children to join the study. Without their support this research would not be possible. This research is supported by the National Cancer Institute grants [CA105203 to MRS, CA126988 to AVW]; funds collected pursuant to the Comprehensive Tobacco Settlement of 1998 and appropriated by the 76th legislature to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; by the Caroline W. Law Fund for Cancer Prevention, and by the Dan Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment. The funders did not contribute to the design and conduct of Page 10 of 11 the study, the data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. Author details 1University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, 1616 Guadalupe, Suite 6.300, Austin, TX 78701, USA. 2Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. 3University of Texas M.D. Anderson Center, Division of Cancer Prevention & Population Sciences, 1155 Pressler St. - CPB6.3201, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Received: 26 January 2012 Accepted: 27 April 2012 Published: 4 May 2012 References 1. Zuckerman M: Sensation Seeking and Risky Behavior. Washington DC: APA; 2007. 2. Martin CA, Kelly TH, Rayens MK, Brogli BR, Brenzel A, Smith WJ, Omar HA: Sensation seeking, puberty, and nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana use in adolescence. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatr 2002, 41:1495–1502. 3. Sallis JF, Prochaska JJ, Taylor WC: A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000, 32:963–975. 4. 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