Parent-daughter discussions to discourage tobacco use: feasibility and content

Parents engaged their 6th- and 8th-grade daughters in a conversation about tobacco. The parents were guided by a pamphlet designed to encourage effective family communication about tobacco. Conversations were audiotaped for later coding. Evidence is presented that such parent-daughter conversations about tobacco use can be successfully carried out in a nonaversive manner. Overall, the conversations were perceived to have gone well, with very little conflict reported. Further, the daughters reported that the parental advice was helpful and they did not resist receiving such advice. Among the topics suggested by the pamphlet, the following were most frequently discussed: consequences of smoking as experienced by friends and relatives, difficulty of quitting, promotional tactics of tobacco companies, making rules about tobacco use, and deciding on the consequences of rules adherence or violation. Other frequently discussed topics, which were not covered in the pamphlet, may also be appropriate for parent-daughter conversations: diminished physical attractiveness and body-image issues, how to resist peer pressure, and health risks.