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Parent educational attainment and adolescent cigarette smoking.
L Chassin1, C C Presson, S J Sherman
1Psychology Department, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287-1104.
Journal of Substance Abuse
|January 1, 1992
Summary
Parental education significantly impacts adolescent smoking initiation, particularly for middle school girls. Mediating factors include peer and parental smoking, and lower academic expectations, though these explain only part of the effect.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Adolescent Psychology
Background:
- Parental educational attainment is a known social determinant of health.
- Understanding adolescent smoking acquisition is crucial for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate psychosocial mediators linking parental education to adolescent smoking.
- To explore if smoking antecedents differ across educational backgrounds.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design.
- Examined parental educational attainment, psychosocial factors, and adolescent smoking onset.
- Analyzed mediation effects and differential antecedents.
Main Results:
- Low parental education was a risk factor for smoking onset in middle school girls.
- Parental and peer smoking, and lower academic expectations partially mediated this effect.
- Few differences in smoking antecedents were found across educational groups.
Conclusions:
- Psychosocial factors partially explain the link between parental education and adolescent smoking.
- Targeted antismoking campaigns may need to consider parental education levels and associated psychosocial factors.