Family-based programs to prevent youth smoking have had limited success, perhaps because they have been 'onesize fits all.' Experimenting youth are likely to be a behaviorally heterogeneous group. As a result, factors thatdistinguish youth who escalate from those who don't are likely to be more subtle and complex than thosedistinguishing never-smokers from smokers. The goal of this study is to investigate how the developmentalcontext of youth smoking affects the risk of becoming a regular smoker by: (a) measuring relationship processesbetween parents and youth using observational methodology, (b) examining individual differences in youthproblem behavior as a means of distinguishing normative experimentation (likely to be transient) from chronic andpervasive problem behavior (likely to persist and escalate), and (c) examining the interaction of family context andyouth behavior. In particular, we (1) examine whether high quality family communication processes bufferexperimenting youth against becoming regular smokers, (2) test the joint influence of parenting practices andyouth problem behavior, and (3) examine whether a positive family context buffers youth against the effects ofdepression and risky peer networks on smoMng escalation. The sample will be comprised of 1400 youth, withover-sampling for smoking initiation. Questionnaire-based assessment of youth smoking, parenting practices andyouth problem behavior and depressive symptoms will occur 6 times over 36 months. A sub-sample of 400experimenting youth will also participate in an intensive sub-study of family relationship processes. Home-basedobservations of thmily discussions will be conducted twice between baseline and 24 months. In this sub-study, wewill test whether parental open communication style and adolescent receptivity to family discussions aboutsmoking reduce the risk of smoking escalation, and examine whether quality and content of familycommunications about smoking interact in predicting escalation. In the full sample, we will model the effects of(a) parental regulation of behavior as a function of youth problem behavior status and (b) test the buffering eft_ctsera positive family context as a function of youth depressive symptoms and risky peer context, for youth at alllevels of the smoking uptake continuum. Multi-level techniques will be used. Identifying individual differencesin family influences on youth smoking will importantly inform targeted prevention and cessation efforts.
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