Abstract
PurposeThis study aimed to identify possible socioeconomic differences in the use of anti-smoking parenting strategies.MethodsIn 2012, survey data of adolescents (N = 225) aged 13 to 17 years and their mothers (N = 122) and fathers (N = 105) were collected in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Questions on smoking behaviour and eleven anti-smoking parenting strategies were answered by adolescents, mothers and fathers. School tracks of adolescents and educational level of parents were measured as indicators of socioeconomic position. Linear multilevel regression analyses were applied to study the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and standardised scores of anti-smoking strategies. Analyses were controlled for age, sex and smoking by parents and adolescents.ResultsWe found no consistent socioeconomic differences in the use of anti-smoking parenting strategies. There were no statistically significant differences in relation to parental educational level or when using adolescent reports on parenting practices. However, when using parental reports, a few strategies varied significantly according to adolescent educational track. Adolescents in higher educational tracks were more likely to have no-smoking rules in the home (standardised regression coefficient (β) = 0.20, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.03; 0.37, p = 0.022) and more likely to have a no-smoking agreement (β = 0.17, 95 % CI: 0.00; 0.34, p = 0.048). However, they were less likely to frequently communicate about smoking with their parents (β = −0.25, 95 % CI: −0.41; −0.08, p = 0.004).ConclusionIn this specific population, there was no consistent support for the hypothesis that anti-smoking parenting strategies contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent smoking. Parental factors that are more likely to contribute to these inequalities include parental smoking and parenting styles.
Highlights
Smoking typically finds its origins in adolescence, with approximately two thirds of smokers initiating smoking before the age of 18 [1]
The male-to-female ratio decreased with educational track but was similar across parental educational levels
For three anti-smoking strategies, the association with adolescent educational track was significantly stronger when reported by parents than it was when reported by adolescents: home rules, no-smoking agreement and communication frequency. These results suggest that parents of adolescents in higher educational tracks more often report to set home rules and to have a no-smoking agreement, but that they less often report to communicate about smoking with their children
Summary
Smoking typically finds its origins in adolescence, with approximately two thirds of smokers initiating smoking before the age of 18 [1] Those who initiate smoking at an early age are more likely to continue to smoke during their adult life [1], leading to health problems such as impaired fitness, increased rates of illness and reduced lung growth at young age, and development of illness such as cancer, COPD and cardiovascular disease in later life [2]. Adolescents of lower socioeconomic position (SEP) are typically more likely to smoke than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds [4, 5]. They are more likely to initiate smoking and to become regular smokers after having started smoking. To prevent large smoking inequalities in adult life, effective strategies are needed to keep adolescents of low SEP from initiating smoking
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