Parental smoking and pretend smoking in young children.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether parental smoking was associated with smoking-related play behaviour in young children.


METHODS
Children were asked to pretend that they were grown-ups having dinner. They were invited to act out this situation in a play corner with a toy kitchen and a child-sized dining area, including a package of fake cigarettes on the table.


METHODS
Children were tested individually at their school during regular school hours.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 100 children between 4 and 8 years of age (mean=5.28, SD=0.94) of which 57% were boys. The majority of the children were born in The Netherlands (99%).


METHODS
The main outcome measure was whether or not a child pretended to be smoking a cigarette. Child and parent reports were used to assess parental smoking.


RESULTS
Findings revealed that 37% of the children had at least one 'puff' during their play. Children were more likely to pretend to smoke if they reported having smoking parents (OR=3.16, p=0.02; 95% CI=1.22 to 8.18). Analyses for the model with parent reports on parental smoking did not yield any direct association. Children's explicit attitudes were unrelated to their smoking-related play behaviour.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that young children, who reported having parents who smoke, already associate having dinner with a (after-dinner) cigarette.
de Leeuw
Rebecca N H
RN
Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. r.deleeuw@bsi.ru.nl
Engels
Rutger C M E
RC
Scholte
Ron H J
RH
D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010290:Parents; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012907:Smoking; D012931:Social Environment