Parental occupation, education, and smoking as predictors of offspring tobacco use in adulthood: A longitudinal study

Abstract

This study examined the interrelation of parental occupational status (blue- versus white-collar), parental education, parental smoking, parent–child relations, late adolescent tobacco use, and adult offspring smoking. A longitudinal data set was employed, composed of 603 participants who were first studied in childhood and then followed to mean age 27 years. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that the distal factors of parental blue-collar status, low parental educational achievement, and parental smoking were related to adult offspring smoking. Specifically, parental blue-collar status and parental smoking were mediated by the latent construct of the parent–child relationship, which in turn was mediated by smoking in late adolescence with respect to adult offspring smoking. Parental educational level was partially mediated by the parent–adolescent relationship but also had a direct path to adult offspring smoking. The most powerful predictor of offspring smoking in adulthood was smoking in late adolescence. Findings imply areas that may be targeted by intervention programs to decrease offspring tobacco use.