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
. 2013 Apr;38(4):1905-11.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.01.002. Epub 2013 Jan 11.

The dynamic role of parental influences in preventing adolescent smoking initiation

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

The dynamic role of parental influences in preventing adolescent smoking initiation

E Melinda Mahabee-Gittens et al. Addict Behav. 2013 Apr.

Abstract

Background: As adolescents grow, protective parental influences become less important and peer influences take precedence in adolescent's initiation of smoking. It is unknown how and when this occurs. We sought to: prospectively estimate incidence rates of smoking initiation from late childhood through mid-adolescence, identify important risk and protective parental influences on smoking initiation, and examine their dynamic nature in order to identify key ages.

Methods: Longitudinal data from the National Survey of Parents and Youth of 8 nationally representative age cohorts (9-16 years) of never smokers in the U.S. were used (N=5705 dyads at baseline). Analysis involved a series of lagged logistic regression models using a cohort-sequential design.

Results: The mean sample cumulative incidence rates of tobacco use increased from 1.8% to 22.5% between the 9 and 16 years old age cohorts. Among risk factors, peer smoking was the most important across all ages; 11-15 year-olds who spent time with peers who smoked had 2 to 6.5 times higher odds of initiating smoking. Parent-youth connectedness significantly decreased the odds of smoking initiation by 14-37% in 11-14 year-olds; parental monitoring and punishment for smoking decreased the odds of smoking initiation risk by 36-59% in 10-15 year-olds, and by 15-28% in 12-14 year-olds, respectively.

Conclusions: Parental influences are important in protecting against smoking initiation across adolescence. At the same time, association with peers who smoke is a very strong risk factor. Our findings provide empirical evidence to suggest that in order to prevent youth from initiating smoking, parents should be actively involved in their adolescents' lives and guard them against association with peers who smoke.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no con3icts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.1
Fig. 1.1
Population trajectories of smoking initiation and the risk factor of peer smoking.
Fig. 1.2
Fig. 1.2
Population trajectories of smoking initiation and the protective parental influences of connectedness, monitoring, and punishment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Academy of Pediatrics. Policy statement—Tobacco use: A pediatric disease. Pediatrics. 2009;124(5):1474–1487. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-2114 (peds.2009–2114 [pii]) - DOI - PubMed
    1. Avenevoli S, Merikangas KR. Familial influences on adolescent smoking. [Research Support, U.S. Gov’t, P.H.S. Review] Addiction. 2003;98(Suppl 1):1–20. - PubMed
    1. Bauman KE, Carver K, Gleiter K. Trends in parent and friend influence during adolescence: The case of adolescent cigarette smoking. Addictive Behaviors. 2001;26(3):349–361. - PubMed
    1. Bernat DH, Erickson DJ, Widome R, Perry CL, Forster JL. Adolescent smoking trajectories: Results from a population-based cohort study. The Journal of Adolescent Health. 2008;43(4):334–340. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.02.014 (S1054-139X(08)00157-2 [pii]) - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bricker JB, Peterson AV, Robyn Andersen M, Leroux BG, Bharat Rajan K, Sarason IG. Close friends’, parents’, and older siblings’ smoking: Reevaluating their influence on children’s smoking. [Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural] Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2006a;8(2):217–226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14622200600576339. - DOI - PubMed