The Association of Parental Self-Efficacy and Parent-Youth Connectedness With Youth Smoking Intentions

J Prev Interv Community. 2011;39(3):194-208. doi: 10.1080/10852352.2011.576962.

Abstract

Little attention has been paid to understanding how parents of differing race/ethnicity perceive their effectiveness in exercising anti-smoking parenting practices and how these behaviors affect youth's smoking intentions. We explored the association of parent-youth connectedness and parental self-efficacy and youths' smoking intentions in a group of African American and Caucasian never-smokers. Based on Social Bonding Theory and Social Learning Theory, a questionnaire was administered to nonsmoking, 9-16-year-old youth and parent dyads, assessing youth smoking intentions and parental measures of connectedness and self-efficacy. Youth risk factors for intending to smoke were increased parent-youth conflict and protective factors were increased parental monitoring, increased parental rule setting, and higher parental self-efficacy. Parent-youth connectedness and parental self-efficacy did not differ by parental smoking status or by race/ethnicity. Our findings underscore the importance of strong parenting practices and parental self-efficacy in protecting against youth intention to smoke and these may be important to target in future interventions.

Keywords: adolescence; parenting; prevention; smoking.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior
  • Black or African American
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intention*
  • Male
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Parenting / psychology
  • Parents / psychology*
  • Self Efficacy*
  • Smoking / ethnology*
  • Smoking / psychology*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • White People