Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Mar;14(3):264-73.
doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntr192. Epub 2011 Dec 16.

The role of family influences on adolescent smoking in different racial/ethnic groups

E Melinda Mahabee-Gittens  1 , Yang Xiao, Judith S Gordon, Jane C Khoury
Affiliations

The role of family influences on adolescent smoking in different racial/ethnic groups

E Melinda Mahabee-Gittens et al. Nicotine Tob Res. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Although differing levels of family influences may explain some of the varying racial/ethnic trends in adolescent smoking behavior, clarification of which influences are protective against smoking may aid in the development of future ethnic-specific smoking prevention interventions. We sought to identify and compare the association of family influences on adolescent smoking among Black, Hispanic, and White adolescents in a cross-sectional national sample.

Methods: Data from 6,426 parent-child dyads from Round 1 of the National Survey of Parents and Youth were analyzed. The association of family influences with ever-smokers and recent smokers was evaluated. Multinomial logistic regression using SUDAAN software was used.

Results: While all measures of family influences except for parent-adolescent activities and intention to monitor were significantly protective against recent smoking and ever smoking among Whites, ethnic-specific family influence predictors of smoking were found in Blacks and Hispanics. Higher parental monitoring, higher intention to monitor, and higher connectedness were protective among Hispanics, while higher parental punishment and favorable attitude toward monitoring were protective against smoking among Blacks. For family influences significantly associated with protection against smoking, consistently greater protection was afforded against recent smoking than against ever smoking.

Conclusions: Higher levels of family influences are protective against smoking among all racial/ethnic groups. There are consistencies in family influences on youth smoking; however, there may be specific family influences that should be differentially emphasized within racial/ethnic groups in order to protect against smoking behavior. Our results offer insight for designing strategies for preventing smoking in youth of different racial/ethnic backgrounds.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bernat DH, Erickson DJ, Widome R, Perry CL, Forster JL. Adolescent smoking trajectories: Results from a population-based cohort study. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2008;43:334–340. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.02.014. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Catalano RF, Morrison DM, Wells EA, Gillmore MR, Iritani B, Hawkins JD. Ethnic differences in family factors related to early drug initiation. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 1992;53:208–217. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco use among middle and high school students—United States, 2000–2009. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2010;59:1063–1068. - PubMed
    1. Chassin L, Presson CC, Rose JS, Sherman SJ. From adolescence to adulthood: Age-related changes in beliefs about cigarette smoking in a midwestern community sample. Health Psychology. 2001;20:377–386. - PubMed
    1. Chassin L, Presson CC, Sherman SJ, Edwards DA. The natural history of cigarette smoking: Predicting young-adult smoking outcomes from adolescent smoking patterns. Health Psychology. 1990;9:701–716. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.9.6.701. - PubMed

Publication types