title: The contribution of parent-child interactions to smoking experimentation in adolescence: implications for prevention.
abstract: Because few prospective studies have examined the independent influence of mothers and fathers on smoking experimentation, we tested the association between a set of parent-specific, familial and peer interactions with smoking experimentation in early adolescence. Data come from two cohorts in the British Youth Panel Survey (N = 1736; mean age at baseline, 11.26; SD = 0.65), a study of children resident with members of the British Household Panel Survey. Baseline data showed 8.2% of participants had smoked which increased to 40.3% after a 3-year follow-up. Multivariate logistic regression models showed risk factors for the onset of experimentation included frequent time spent with peers (P < 0.001), maternal smoking (P = 0.001), female gender and older participant age (P < 0.001). Parent-child quarrels, mother-child conversations, family meal frequency and household income were not significantly associated with experimentation. Frequent father-child conversations, about things which mattered to children, were the only type of parent-child contact associated with a reduced risk of experimentation (P < 0.001), and a significant interaction suggested that maternal smoking increased the likelihood of girls but not boys experimentation (P = 0.01). This study suggests that familial risk and protective factors operate independently and that more attention should be paid to the role of fathers in smoking prevention.
authors: Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, 4th Floor Neuadd Meirionnydd, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, UK. whitej11@cf.ac.uk
authors: James
authors: J
authors: White
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010379:Peer Group; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology