Abstract
We examined whether personality traits and parental education are associated with smoking initiation in a sample of Spanish secondary school students. Participants, taken from the ITACA study (842 adolescents aged 14–15 years), completed a questionnaire assessing personality traits of the Five Factor Model, smoking behaviours and parental education. Multinomial logistic regression models controlling for age and sex were used to determine the independent associations and interactions of personality traits and parental education with risk of ever trying smoking, as well as with being a regular smoker in adolescence. Higher conscientiousness was related to a lower chance of trying smoking at least once (OR = 0.57, 95% CIs = 0.46, 0.71) as well as being a regular smoker (OR = 0.39, 95% CIs = 0.27, 0.55). Higher emotional instability (neuroticism) was associated with higher risk of being in either smoking category (OR = 1.33, 95% CIs = 1.10, 1.60 and OR = 1.76, 95% CIs = 1.31, 2.35, respectively). Higher extraversion was also associated with a higher risk of both types of smoking behaviour (OR = 1.38, 95% CIs = 1.12, 1.70 and OR = 2.43 (1.67, 3.55, respectively). Higher parental education was significantly related to lower risk of being a regular smoker (OR = 0.70, 95% CIs = 0.54, 0.89), but not with trying smoking in the past. Finally, we found no evidence of the interactions between adolescents’ personality and parental education in predicting adolescent smoking behaviours. We conclude that personality factors and parental education are important and independent factors associated with smoking behaviour in adolescents.
Highlights
Building on the findings that parental socioeconomic status (SES) affects smoking initiation among adolescents [12] and the studies that show that personality traits are associated with adolescent smoking status [24], here we explore whether personality traits and parental education are associated with smoking initiation in a cohort of Spanish secondary school students
Mean levels of extraversion and neuroticism were significantly higher among regular smokers and triers, and the mean level of conscientiousness was significantly lower among triers and regular smokers than in never smokers
Our results indicate that parental education and adolescents’ personality traits are independently associated with adolescent smoking behaviour
Summary
The study participants were students aged 14 to 15 years, who participated in the project ITACA: a multi-centre, cluster-randomized controlled trial, aimed at reducing the prevalence. Personality and smoking in adolescence of smoking among secondary education students [29]. The initial ITACA sample comprised 1708 students (11–12 year-old) of 16 secondary education schools covering a wide range of communities (urban, semi urban and rural), socioeconomic status and prevalence of smoking. Personality was assessed using the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C) [30] designed to assess the five basic personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness and emotional instability (neuroticism). Extraversion assesses characteristics such as activity, enthusiasm, assertiveness and self-confidence. The highest parental education variable was computed by taking the highest educational level obtained by either parent
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