The relative importance of parental attitudes and behavior upon youth smoking behavior

Impact of nearby smoking on adolescent smoking behavior in Korea

Although youth smoking is a very significant topic, research on youth smoking is limited. More specifically, youth smoking studies are limited to certain schools and regions. In this study, we investigated the association between number of nearby smokers and adolescent smoking behavior.This study used South Korea's representative Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2014 to 2016. A total 198,814 adolescents were included in the analysis. Survey logistic regression models were used to examine the association. We also analyzed subgroup models and various combinations of nearby smokers to explain adolescent smoking behavior.Adjusting for variables associated with smoking behavior, multivariate survey logistic regressions revealed that adolescents with more nearby smokers had a greater risk for smoking (1 person: odds ratio [OR], 5.090; 2 persons: OR, 8.405; 3 persons or more: OR, 12.039, all statistically significant). Combinations of nearby smokers also show that the risk of smoking increases as the number of people increases. In particular, smoking increased significantly when with friends.The study found that, as the number of surrounding cigarette smokers increases, the smoking rate in teenagers increases, and there is a tendency to vary according to social status. We recommend that educators and policy makers use a variety of approaches considering social environmental factors in smoking prevention programs and smoking cessation education for adolescents.

The role of nicotinic receptor genes (CHRN) in the pathways of prenatal tobacco exposure on smoking behavior among young adult light smokers

BACKGROUND

Prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) is associated with more frequent smoking among young, light smokers. Little is known about how nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (CHRN) genes may contribute to this relationship.

METHODS

Data were drawn from a longitudinal cohort of young light smokers of European ancestry (N = 511). Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among offspring, rs16969968 and rs6495308 in CHRNA5A3B4 and rs2304297 in CHRNB3A6, were analyzed with respect to whether they 1) predict PTE status; 2) confound the previously-reported effects of PTE on future smoking; 3) have effects on youth smoking frequency that are mediated through PTE; and 4) have effects that are moderated by PTE.

RESULTS

rs2304297 and rs6495308 were associated with increased likelihood and severity of PTE, respectively. In a path analysis, rs16969968 directly predicted more frequent smoking in young adulthood (B = 1.50, p = .044); this association was independent of, and not mediated by, PTE. The risk of rs16969968 (IRR = 1.07, p = .015) and the protective effect of rs2304297 (IRR = 0.84, p < .001) on smoking frequency were not moderated by PTE. PTE moderated the effect of rs6495308, such that these alleles were protective against later smoking frequency only among non-exposed youth (IRR = 0.85, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The association between offspring CHRNB3A6 and PTE is a novel finding. The risk of rs16969968 on youth smoking is independent and unrelated to that of PTE among young, light smokers. PTE moderates the protective effect of rs6495308 on youth smoking frequency. However, PTE's pathway to youth smoking behavior was not explained by these genetic factors, leaving its mechanism(s) of action unclear.

Preteen Attitudes about Smoking and Parental Factors Associated with Favorable Attitudes

Purpose.

To describe youth smoking-related attitudes and evaluate the effects of parental factors on child adoption of positive attitudes about smoking.

Design.

This study used baseline and 20-month data from a family-based smoking-prevention study (82.9% completed both surveys).

Setting.

Telephone recruitment from two health maintenance organizations.

Subjects.

Children aged 10 to 12 years and one parent of each child (n = 418 families) were randomly assigned to a frequent assessment cohort (12.5% of participants).

Intervention.

Families received a mailed smoking-prevention packet (parent handbook, videotape about youth smoking, comic book, pen, and stickers), outreach telephone counselor calls to the parent, a newsletter, and medical record prompts for providers to deliver smoking-prevention messages to parents and children.

Measures.

Demographics, tobacco status, attitudes about smoking (Teenage Attitudes and Practices Survey), family discussions about tobacco, family cohesiveness (family support and togetherness), parent involvement, parent monitoring, and parenting confidence.

Results.

One-third of the children endorsed beliefs that they could smoke without becoming addicted, and 8% to 10% endorsed beliefs on the benefits of smoking. Children's positive attitudes about smoking were associated with lower family cohesiveness (p = .01). Parental use of tobacco was the only significant predictor of children's positive attitudes about tobacco at 20 months (p = .03).

Conclusions.

Children as young as 10 years underestimate addictive properties of smoking, which may place them at risk for future smoking. Parental use of tobacco and family cohesiveness are important factors in the formulation of preteen attitudes about smoking.

Maternal bonding styles in smokers and non-smokers: a comparative study

BACKGROUND

Parental bonding has been implicated in smoking behavior, and the quality of maternal bonding (MB) has been associated with poor mental health and substance use. However, little is known about the association of MB and the smoking of the offspring.

METHODS

In our study, 129 smokers and 610 non-smoker medical students completed the parental bonding instrument, which measures MB along two dimensions: care and overprotection. Four categories can be created by high and low scores on care and overprotection: optimal parenting (OP; high care/low overprotection); affectionless control (ALC; low care/high overprotection); affectionate constraint (AC; high care/high overprotection), and neglectful parenting (NP; low care/low overprotection). Nicotine dependence was assessed by the Fagerstrom Nicotine Dependence Test, exhaled CO level, and daily cigarette consumption (CPD).

RESULTS

Higher CPD was significantly associated with lower overprotection (p = 0.016) and higher care (p = 0.023) scores. The odds for being a smoker were significantly higher in the neglectful maternal bonding style compared to the other rearing styles (p = 0.022). Besides, smokers showed significantly higher care and lower overprotection scores with the Mann-Whitney U-test than non-smokers, although these associations did not remain significant in multiple regression models.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that focusing on early life relationship between patient and mother can be important in psychotherapeutic interventions for smoking. Registration trials retrospectively registered.

Exploring alternate processes contributing to the association between maternal smoking and the smoking behavior among young adult offspring

INTRODUCTION

Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSP) is a known risk factor for regular smoking in young adulthood and may pose a risk independently of mother's lifetime smoking. The processes through which MSP exerts this influence are unknown but may occur through greater smoking quantity and frequency following initiation early in adolescence or increased sensitivity to nicotine dependence (ND) at low levels of smoking.

METHODS

This study used path analysis to investigate adolescent smoking quantity, smoking frequency, and ND as potential simultaneous mediating pathways through which MSP and mother's lifetime smoking (whether she has ever smoked) increase the risk of smoking in young adulthood among experimenters (at baseline, <100 cigarettes/lifetime) and current smokers (>100 cigarettes/lifetime).

RESULTS

For experimenters, MSP was directly associated with more frequent young adult smoking and was not mediated by adolescent smoking behavior or ND. Independently of MSP, the effect of mother's lifetime smoking was fully mediated through frequent smoking and was heightened ND during adolescence. Controlling for MSP eliminated a previously observed direct association between mother's lifetime smoking and future smoking among experimenters. For current smokers, only prior smoking behavior was associated with future smoking frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

These results seem to rule out sensitivity to ND and increased smoking behavior as contributing pathways of MSP. Further, the impact of MSP on young adult smoking extends beyond that of having an ever-smoking mother. Future work should test other possible mediators; for example, MSP-related epigenetic changes or gene variants influencing the brain's nicotine response.

Risk factors for adolescent smoking: parental smoking and the mediating role of nicotine dependence

BACKGROUND

Parental smoking and early-emerging nicotine dependence symptoms are well-documented risk factors for adolescent smoking. However, very little is known about the mediating pathways through which these risk factors may act, or whether parental smoking may cause or signal early-emerging nicotine dependence symptoms.

METHODS

Data were drawn from the longitudinal Social and Emotional Contexts of Adolescent Smoking Patterns Study. Adolescents who had smoked under 100 cigarettes in their lifetime (n=594; low-exposure group) and adolescents who had smoked over 100 cigarettes, but fewer than 5 cigarettes per day (n=152) were included in the analyses. Path analysis was performed on longitudinal data to investigate the association between parental smoking and smoking frequency at the 48 months follow-up, both directly and through mediating variables of smoking frequency, smoking quantity, and nicotine dependence.

RESULTS

Father's smoking was associated with higher adolescent nicotine dependence scores at the baseline assessment wave. Structural equation modeling revealed that mother's smoking at baseline was associated with adolescent's smoking frequency at the 48-month follow-up, and its effect was partially mediated by both smoking frequency and nicotine dependence among low-exposure adolescent smokers.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental smoking is a risk factor for future smoking in low-exposure adolescent smokers, above and beyond the risks posed by smoking behavior and nicotine dependence. Moreover, parental smoking is associated with early-onset nicotine dependence in low-exposure adolescent smokers. As an easily measureable risk factor, parent smoking status can be used to identify and intervene with novice adolescent smokers who are at high risk for chronic smoking behavior.

The Association Between Household Smoking Restrictions and Smoking Abstinence: Does Age Matter?

Aim: The purpose of this study is to explore how effective household smoking restrictions (HSRs) are in different age groups in predicting smoking abstinence. Methods: The study analysed the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) cycle, 3.1. Smoking abstinence was defined as individuals who reported to not have smoked greater than 100 cigarettes (n = 1 024 578) and were selected for this analysis. Important covariates include sex, age, education and immigrant status. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between smoking household restrictions and smoking abstinence when taking covariates into consideration. Results: Individuals who implemented HSRs reported to be abstinent from smoking at 12% compared to those with no HSRs at 0.7%. When adjusted for covariates of interest, the odds ratio (OR) for smoking abstinence was 1.43 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04, 1.97; P < .026). It was found that age was a strong predictor of smoking abstinence particularly in youths at 3.11 (95% CI: 1.65, 5.84; P < .001) and young adults at 1.92 (95% CI: 1.44, 1.92; P < .001). Conclusion: It is suggested that HSRs is an important anti-tobacco socialisation tool in youths and young adults. Individuals living in a home with HSRs may internalise behavioural norms against the initiation or continuation of smoking.

Keeping Kids Smokefree: rationale, design, and implementation of a community, school, and family-based intervention to modify behaviors related to smoking among Māori and Pacific Island children in New Zealand

Despite a concerted, sustained and comprehensive tobacco control effort, smoking is prevalent among young people in New Zealand, particularly for Māori and Pacific Island teenagers. Many took up smoking in their pre-teen years. New Zealand research has shown that daily smoking by children aged 14-15 years is strongly influenced by parental smoking. The Keeping Kids Smokefree study is investigating whether changing parental smoking behavior and attitudes via a community-partnership approach with parents, schools, and local health providers can reduce smoking initiation by 11-12 year olds. It is a quasi-experimental trial involving four schools in an urban area of high social deprivation with large numbers of Māori and Pacific Islands families. Schools were allocated to intervention or control and the intervention was developed through a process of engagement with the schools, parents of children and local healthcare organizations. This article describes the rationale, context, methodology and methods involved in establishing the study. Building Māori and Pacific Islander research capacity was a secondary objective of the study.

NEIGHBORHOOD NORMS AND SUBSTANCE USE AMONG TEENS

This paper uses new data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A. FANS) to examine how neighborhood norms shape teenagers' substance use. Specifically, it takes advantage of clustered data at the neighborhood level to relate adult neighbors' attitudes and behavior with respect to smoking, drinking, and drugs, which we treat as norms, to teenagers' own smoking, drinking, and drug use. We use hierarchical linear models to account for parents' attitudes and behavior and other characteristics of individuals and families. We also investigate how the association between neighborhood norms and teen behavior depends on: (1) the strength of norms, as measured by consensus in neighbors' attitudes and conformity in their behavior; (2) the willingness and ability of neighbors to enforce norms, for instance, by monitoring teens' activities; and (3) the degree to which teens are exposed to their neighbors. We find little association between neighborhood norms and teen substance use, regardless of how we condition the relationship. We discuss possible theoretical and methodological explanations for this finding.

Household smoking restrictions and adolescent smoking

PURPOSE

To examine the association between household smoking restrictions and adolescent smoking, controlling for parental smoking, peer smoking, and tobacco marketing.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of 1999 data from the Growing Up Today Study, a longitudinal cohort of adolescents.

SETTING

Self-report questionnaire.

SUBJECTS

10,593 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years.

MEASURES

The dependent variable was established smoking (smoking > or = 100 cigarettes). Variables of interest were household smoking restrictions, parental smoking, peer smoking, and tobacco promotional item (TPI) possession.

RESULTS

Four percent of participants reported that their households permitted smoking. Parental smoking, peer smoking, and TPI possession were significantly associated with established smoking In logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, peer smoking, and TPI possession, adolescent smoking was inversely related to the presence of a restrictive household policy (odds ratio [OR] = 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.48-0.93); however, when parental smoking was added to this model, the association was attenuated (OR = 0.94, CI = 0.65-1.35). When only one parent in the household smoked, smoking restrictions were more common when this parent was the father.

CONCLUSIONS

Although household smoking restrictions offer health benefits, they do not appear to be associated with adolescent smoking after accounting for other factors. Prior studies did not include parental smoking, peer smoking, and marketing influences. This analytic difference may explain apparent contradictions in the literature.

Role of parents and peers in influencing the smoking status of high school students in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES

To assess parental influence on smoking behaviour by high school students in an Asian culture and to compare the relative importance of parental and peer influence.

METHODS

A 5% nationally representative sample, including 44 976 high school students in 10th to 12th grade (aged 15-18 years) in Taiwan, were surveyed in 1995. Each completed a long self administered questionnaire. Parental influence was measured by examining both parental behaviour (smoking status) and attitudes (perceived "tender loving care" (TLC) by adolescents). Changes in smoking status were used to determine peer influence, defined as the increase in the likelihood of smoking from grade 10 to 12 in a steady state environment. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for parental and peer influence, using logistic regression.

RESULTS

Adolescents of smoking parents with low TLC had the highest smoking rates and those of non-smoking parents with high TLC had the lowest. The difference was more than twofold in boys and more than fourfold in girls. When either parental smoking status or TLC alone was considered, parental influence was similar to peer influence in boys, but larger than peer influence in girls. However, when smoking status and TLC were considered jointly, it became larger than peer influence for both groups (OR 2.8 v 1.8 for boys and OR 3.9 v 1.3 for girls).

CONCLUSION

When parental influence is taken as parental behaviour and attitude together, it plays a more important role than peer influence in smoking among high school students in Taiwan. This study, characterising such relationships among Asian populations for the first time, implies that future prevention programmes should direct more efforts toward the parental smoking and parent-child relationships, and not aim exclusively at adolescents in schools.

Mothers' attitudes and concerns about their children smoking: do they influence kids?

BACKGROUND

The effects of mothers' attitudes and concerns about tobacco use on whether their children take up smoking are largely unknown. This study examined the predictive effects of mothers' attitudes about tobacco and concerns about their children smoking.

METHODS

Self-reported data from a large number of 12th-grade students (2,736) and their mothers were used. Mothers' attitudes and concerns were assessed when their children were 3rd graders (age 8), at the start of the smoking acquisition period; their children were then followed prospectively (with attrition of only 5%) for 9 years to the end of the period (12th grade) for the assessment of smoking behavior.

RESULTS

In households in which both parents are nonsmokers, strong maternal antismoking attitudes are associated with a statistically significant approximately 50% reduction (P < 0.05) in the prevalence of smoking by adolescent children. In contrast, in households in which one or both parents are current smokers, there was no reduction in adolescent smoking associated with mothers' antismoking attitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal antismoking attitudes when their children are young predict adolescents' adoption of smoking at 12th grade, but only when parental behavior is consistent with these attitudes.

Predictors of cigarette smoking by young adults and readiness to change

A survey on cigarette smoking of a sample of 406 students aged 16/17 years from a Swiss city was carried out in 1995, and the sample was reinvestigated in 1998. Measures were taken of gender, age, school attendance (vocational or other), negative feelings, perception of danger. parental smoking, and reasons for smoking or not smoking at Time 1. Time-2 measures included stages-of-change in smoking cessation and nicotine addiction. Negative feelings at ages 16/17 were predictive of nicotine addiction at ages 19/20, and highly predictive for starting smoking within this period. Frequent smoking and relaxation as a reason for smoking was more likely for sustained smokers than for quitters. The results suggest that if adolescents begin to smoke in order to cope with negative feelings they continue to do so and increase their smoking. Cessation can probably be promoted by advice to reduce the frequency of smoking.

Smoking habits of King Saud University students in Abha, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of smoking among university students of King Saud University in Abha City, to determine ecological factors for the problem, and to assess the studentsâ knowledge about the health effects of smoking, and attitudes towards public action against smoking.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All medical students at the University College of Medicine (MC) (n=202), and a representative sample of students of the College of Education (CE) (n=300), were subjected to a modified Arabic version of the World Health Organization standard questionnaire for young people to study their knowledge, attitudes and practices of smoking.

RESULTS

The study revealed the following results among students of the CE and those of the MC, respectively. Prevalence of regular smoking (17.5% vs. 13.6%; P=0.25); heavy smokers (39.5% vs. 27.8%; P=0.38); smokers of moderate- to high-nicotine yield (92.7% vs. 50%, P=0.0004), and tar yield (48.8% vs. 16.7%, P=0.02). Curiosity was the main reason for initiation of smoking (41.2% vs. 51.9%), followed by the desire to show off (27.5% vs. 51.9%, P=0.03), and peer pressure (27.5% vs. 7.4%, P=0.04). Friends were the main source of the first cigarette (53.1% vs. 55.6%), followed by parents (2% vs. 40.7%, P=0.0001). Most students were knowledgeable about smoking and had favorable attitudes against it. However, MC students were significantly more knowledgeable than those of the CE.

CONCLUSION

Smoking still constitutes a major problem among university students in Abha, in spite of their knowledge of its hazards. This may be due to the addictive effect of smoking, peer pressure, negative parental attitudes and other reasons. There is a need to implement an anti-smoking program for college students, and possibly legislation to limit the amount of tar and nicotine in cigarettes.

Primary socialization theory: the etiology of drug use and deviance. I

The fundamental theorem of primary socialization theory is that normative and deviant behaviors are learned social behaviors, products of the interaction of social, psychological, and cultural characteristics, and that norms for social behaviors, including drug use, are learned predominantly in the context of interactions with the primary socialization sources. During adolescence, learning of social behaviors is frequently dominated by interactions with peer clusters. There are a number of additional postulates: 1) The strength of the bonds between the youth and the primary socialization sources is a major factor in determining how effectively norms are transmitted. 2) Any socialization link can transmit deviant norms, but healthy family and school systems are more likely to transmit prosocial norms. 3) Peer clusters can transmit either prosocial or deviant norms, but the major source of deviant norms is usually peer clusters. 4) Weak family/child and/ or school/child bonds increase the chances that the youth will bond with a deviant peer cluster and will engage in deviant behaviors. 5) Weak peer bonds can also ultimately increase the changes of bonding with deviant peers. Primary socialization theory is consistent with current research, has strong implications for improving prevention and treatment, and suggests specific hypotheses for further research.

Girls, pecking order and smoking

Against a background of growing concern about the failure to reduce cigarette smoking amongst young people, particularly girls, this paper attempts to unravel the complex interrelationships between smoking, peer group structure and gender. We were particularly intrigued to explore a recent hypothesis in the literature that suggests that girls who smoke, far from lacking self-esteem, are more self-confident and socially skilled than their non-smoking peers. Sociometric and qualitative analyses revealed that smoking behaviour was indeed shaped by gender, and that the psychosocial processes involved in smoking uptake may be different for boys and than for girls. Peer group structure, consistently described by young people as hierarchical, was closely related to smoking behaviour. Girls at the top of the social pecking order who projected an image of high self-esteem were identified as most likely to smoke, while only a small minority of girls fitted the stereotype of the young female smoker who has poor social skills and low self-esteem. Boys of high social status were less vulnerable, since sport and a desire to be fit to some extent protected them. Our findings raise fundamental questions about the meaning of self-esteem in relation to smoking uptake, arguing instead for an exploration of the term "self-worth". They suggest the need for health education programmes which are sensitive both to gender and to peer group structures.

The early use of alcohol and tobacco: its relation to children's competence and parents' behavior

OBJECTIVES

Use of tobacco and alcohol during childhood predicts heavy use of these substances and use of illicit drugs during adolescence. This study aims to identify developmental correlates of tobacco and alcohol use among elementary-school children.

METHODS

Cross-sectional surveys were used to measure tobacco and alcohol use, multiple indicators of child competence, parenting behaviors, and parental modeling of tobacco and alcohol use in a sample of 1470 third- and fifth-grade children. Both self-report and teacher-rated assessments were obtained, which allowed collateral testing of study hypotheses.

RESULTS

Children's tobacco and alcohol use was strongly related to low scores on several measures of child competence, both self-reported and teacher rated. Children's tobacco and alcohol use was also associated with less effective parenting behaviors and with parental use of tobacco and alcohol.

CONCLUSIONS

Children's early experience with tobacco and alcohol is associated with weak competence development and exposure to socialization factors that promote risk taking. Interventions to prevent early use of tobacco and alcohol are needed.

Nurses and smoking: review and implications

An analysis of smoking behavior among nurses shows unacceptably high levels of smoking, despite some evidence of a downward trend. In this article, the nature of tobacco dependence is examined, and an extensive review of demographic and causative factors associated with the smoking behavior of nurses is presented. The impact of smoking on the practice of nurses, particularly related to their ability to serve as health educators and role models, is critically examined. Areas for potential research and inquiry, along with some overall strategies for intervention, are identified.

Like parent like child? Associations between drinking and smoking behaviour of parents and their children

This paper examines the association between the smoking and drinking behaviours of parents and their adolescent children, and the effect of gender and social class upon this association. It is based on data collected from a cohort of young people and their parents, resident in the west of Scotland. Both social class and parental smoking behaviour were independently associated with young people's smoking, with young people from lower social class households or whose parents smoked being most likely to smoke. Social class and gender were independently associated with young people's drinking, with males and young people from non-manual households being most likely to drink. Parental drinking behaviour was associated positively with young people's drinking only in non-manual classes and among daughters. We conclude that it is important to take social class and gender into account since it may influence whether or not there is an association between the behaviour of young people and that of their parents, and it may influence young people's behaviour in addition to influences from parental behaviour.

Effect of parental smoking classification on the association between parental and adolescent smoking

Prior studies of the relationship between smoking by parents and their children have considered only current smoking by parents. In this study of 12- to 14-year-old adolescents, however, lifetime parental smoking was more strongly correlated with adolescent smoking than was current parental smoking. Indeed, lifetime parental smoking was as strongly correlated as peer smoking with adolescent smoking, and peer smoking is often considered to be the main determinant of adolescent smoking. These findings suggest that the relative role of parent smoking in adolescent smoking has been underestimated, and that new explanations for the association between parental and adolescent smoking are necessary.

Adolescent smoking. A review of prevalence and prevention

This review critically evaluates the extensive literature on the epidemiology and prevention of adolescent smoking. Trends in adolescent smoking attitudes and behavior as well as the immediate and long-term health consequences of adolescent smoking are discussed. The factors associated with adolescent smoking and several smoking interventions are analyzed. Suggestions are made for improving the evaluation of future programs designed to prevent adolescent smoking.

Predicting the onset of smoking in boys and girls

The problem of the high prevalence of smoking among girls and young women is of great concern. In an attempt to identify the factors which influence girls and boys respectively to attempt smoking, the study examines social background, advertising and brand awareness, knowledge, teaching and personal beliefs in conjunction as predictors of smoking. In this study which involved the administration of identical pre- and post-test questionnaires to a sample of boys and girls aged 12 and 13 years, nine variables expressed by never-smokers at pre-test stage were assessed as predictors of immediate future smoking. The two tests were administered 4 months apart to 1125 boys and 1213 girls in northern England. The nine variables included were parental smoking, best friends' smoking, perceived positive values of smoking, perceived negative values of smoking, correct health knowledge, cigarette-brand awareness, having a favourite cigarette advertisement, having a cigarette-brand sponsored sport in four top favourites on television. One group received teaching about smoking between the pre- and post-tests and this was also included as a variable. For boys, no variable investigated had any consistently statistically significant correlation with the uptake of smoking. The most important predictor of smoking for boys, having a best friend who smoked, was significant on application of the chi 2 test (P 0.037), although it was non-significant when included singly in a logistic regression model (0.094); the discrepancy was probably due to the small number of best friends known to smoke. For girls, four variables were found to be significant predictors of smoking when included singly in a logistic regression.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The influence of self-esteem, parental smoking, and living in a tobacco production region on adolescent smoking behaviors

Selected antecedents of smoking initiation among 1,513 eighth grade students in an urban tobacco producing county of North Carolina were studied using the Tobacco Cigarette Smoking Questionnaire and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Fifteen percent of students reported currently smoking, and 17.2% indicated an intention to smoke upon graduation from high school. Self-esteem and parental smoking behavior related significantly to adolescents' smoking behavior and future intention to smoke. Significantly more females intended to smoke and had lower self-esteem than males. Family involvement in the tobacco industry related significantly to adolescents' intention to smoke but not their smoking behavior. Overall, low self-esteem and parental smoking models may be important to developing the smoking habit among young adolescents. Prevention of smoking initiation should involve promotion of children's self-esteem and avoidance of parental smoking modeling prior to the eighth grade.

Predictors of non-adoption of cigarette smoking following experimentation

The Childhood Antecedents of Smoking Study (CASS) investigated patterns of cigarette smoking among junior and senior high school students in an upper midwest school district. Four biannual school-based surveys were conducted over two years. A cohort of 72 smokers was identified and followed to determine who continued smoking and who quit. Discriminant analysis was used to study social, psychological, and environmental factors predictive of quitting smoking. Compared to continuing smokers, quitters reported having fewer friends and siblings who smoked, they were less likely to view the cigarette smoker's image as positive, and lived in families where parental involvement with teenagers was high (based on the reports of parents). These results are consistent with the view that social influences are strong determinants of patterns of adolescent smoking behaviour.

Relation between parents' and children's smoking behaviour and attitudes

In the MRC/Derbyshire Smoking Study, a cohort of about 6000 adolescents was surveyed annually about their smoking behaviour, attitudes, and other issues from when they entered secondary school at 11-12 until 15-16 years and then again at 18-19 years. Their parents answered a similar questionnaire when their children were aged 11-12 and 15-16 years. In this paper we report the findings of an investigation focussed on the relation between parents' and childrens' smoking behaviour and attitudes at different stages of adolescence. It reveals substantial agreement between children's and parents' reports of parents' smoking behaviour and attitudes, that children from one-parent families are more likely than their peers to smoke, and that boys are more likely to smoke if their fathers smoke and girls if their mothers smoke. In addition, maternal attitudes were independently related to the boys' smoking behaviour. The implications of these findings for health education are discussed.

Health risk attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of students grades 7-12

The purpose of this study was to identify trends for youths grades seven to 12 with respect to their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors related to smoking and weight. The results of this study indicate that the majority of students believe smoking is a real health problem. However, the strength of this belief decreases with age. The majority of students agree that smoking does not help people relax, however, the strength of this belief also decreases with age. The majority of students also agree that smoking is not socially okay and again the strength of this belief decreases with age. Another interesting finding, differing from the trends previously mentioned, is that of asking permission before smoking. It was consistent that about 75% of students at all grade levels believed that they would ask permission before smoking around others. Another finding consistently supported across the grades more than 80% believed that a separate area should be provided for those who want to smoke in buildings where smoking is permitted. Youths report a significant decline in the percent of their peers that do not smoke as grade level increases. The decline is from 76% at the seventh grade to 39% at the 12th. While students at each grade level report that approximately one-third of their mothers and 43% of their fathers smoke they also indicate that 16% of their fathers and 10% of their mothers have given up the smoking habit. Youths also consistently report that their parents would be upset if they were to smoke.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)