Family Socialization of Adolescent's Self-Reported Cigarette Use: The Role of Parents' History of Regular Smoking and Parenting Style

Abstract

To examine the main and interactive effects of parental history of regular cigarette smoking and parenting style on adolescent self-reported cigarette use. Predictors of adolescent self-reported cigarette use, including parents' history of regular cigarette smoking and two dimensions of parenting behavior, were analyzed in a sample of 934 predominately Caucasian (96.3%) parent-adolescent dyads. Families were drawn from the control group of a randomized control trial aimed at preventing adolescent substance use. In addition to the main effects of parents' history of regular smoking and parental warmth, logistic regression analysis revealed that the interaction of these two variables was associated with adolescent self-reported cigarette use. Parental warmth was associated with a decreased likelihood of the adolescent ever having smoked a cigarette; however, this was true only if neither parent had a history of regular cigarette smoking. Findings suggest that adolescent smoking prevention programs may be more efficacious if they address both parental history of regular smoking and parenting behavior.