title: Parental divorce and adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use: assessing the importance of family conflict.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate how family conflict contributes to the relationship between parental divorce and adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  School classrooms in Iceland in which an anonymous questionnaire was administered to respondents by supervising teachers. Participants were 7430 (81.4%) of 9124 14- to 16-year-old adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cigarette smoking and alcohol use during the last 30 days were assessed by self-report.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parental divorce was related to adolescent cigarette smoking during the last 30 days (OR = 2.12, 95% CI 1.84-2.44) when controlling for gender only, but was insignificant (OR = 1.18 95%, CI 0.99-1.44) when controlling for relationship with parents, disruptive social changes and family conflict. There was a significant relationship between parental divorce and adolescent alcohol use during last 30 days (OR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.48-1.87), controlling only for gender; however, the relationship disappeared (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.91-1.20) when controlling for other variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family conflicts are important contributors to the relationship between parental divorce and adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use. Conflict between parents and adolescents, but not inter-parental conflict, appears to be the most important factor in the relationship between family conflict and adolescent substance use.
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis, School of Health and Education, Reykjavik University, Iceland. alfgeir@ru.is
authors.forename: Alfgeir Logi
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kristjansson
authors.forename: Inga Dora
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Sigfusdottir
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Allegrante
authors.forename: Asgeir R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Helgason
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004243:Divorce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054541:Family Conflict; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*