Smoking Trajectory Groups Research Articles

Differential contribution of parents and friends to smoking trajectories during adolescence

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative contribution of friends' and parents' smoking on the age of smoking initiation. A sample of 812 preadolescents, who were part of an accelerated longitudinal design, participated in the study over a 4-year period. Three smoking trajectory groups were first established: an age 11–12 starters group (5.7% of the sample), an age 12–13 starters group (11.1% of the sample), and an age 13–14 starters group (7.9% of the sample). A fourth trajectory group included the children who had not started smoking by age 15 years and who represented the majority of the participants (75.4%). After controlling for parental education, gender, and participants' behavioral and academic maladjustment, a series of logistic regressions revealed that parents' smoking assessed during the same year predicted membership in the age 11–12 starters trajectory group. Both parents' and friends' smoking predicted membership in the age 12–13 starters group. Finally, only friends' smoking predicted membership in the age 13–14 starters group. The results are discussed in light of the controversy about the contribution of parents' and friends' smoking behavior to smoking initiation in adolescents.

Developmental trajectories of cigarette use from early adolescence into young adulthood

This study identified developmental trajectories of cigarette smoking from early adolescence into young adulthood, and delineated whether risk factors derived from a social learning-problem behavior framework could differentiate among trajectories. Participants ( N=374) were interviewed five times from age 12 until age 30/31. Using growth mixture modeling, three trajectory groups were identified — heavy/regular, occasional/maturing out, and non/experimental smokers. Being a female, having higher disinhibition, receiving lower grades, and more frequent use of alcohol or drugs significantly increased the probability of belonging to a smoking trajectory group compared with being a nonsmoker. Higher disinhibition and receiving lower grades also differentiated regular smokers from the rest of the sample. None of the risk factors distinguished occasional from regular smokers. When models were tested separately by sex, disinhibition, other drug use, and school grades were associated with smoking for both sexes. On the other hand, environmental factors, including socioeconomic status, parent smoking and friend smoking, were related to smoking for females but not for males. Sex differences in developmental trajectories and in smoking behavior among regular smokers were notable. Future research should examine transitions and turning points from adolescence to adulthood that may affect cessation and escalation differently for males and females.

Parental modeling and parenting behavior effects on offspring alcohol and cigarette use. A growth curve analysis.

This paper examined the effects of parental drinking and smoking, parental warmth and hostility, and their interactions on offsprings' drinking and smoking over time. We used four waves of prospective longitudinal data collected from 218 males and 214 females who were age 15 at Time 1 and age 28 by Time 4. Growth mixture modeling was used to develop offspring trajectory groups of cigarette smokers and alcohol drinkers. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether parent behaviors could predict offspring heavy drinking and smoking trajectories. Four drinking and three smoking trajectory groups were identified for females and males. Parent drinking rather than parenting behavior predicted heavy drinking by offsprings and mothers' drinking was a slightly better predictor than fathers' drinking for both daughters and sons. Fathers' warmth and hostility was the best predictor of heavy smoking by sons. Neither modeling nor parenting significantly predicted female heavy smoking. For the most part, parent modeling did not interact with parenting behavior to predict smoking or drinking in offspring. Parents affected their offspring's use of alcohol and cigarettes both through modeling and parenting behavior. However, the importance of modeling relative to parenting behavior differed by the type of substance. Prevention programs that focus on both the modeling of parental behaviors, as well as enhancing parenting skills, should be effective in influencing trajectories of substance use throughout adolescence and young adulthood.