The relative contributions of parenting practices in smoking behavior of adolescents with and without asthma Roy Otten, Rutger C. M. E. Engels, Regina J. J. M. van den Eijnden Received 6 May 2005; accepted 18 January 2006 This study tested associations between general parenting dimensions, antismoking socialization practices, and parental smoking status on the one hand and adolescent smoking on the other. These associations were examined within asthmatic adolescents, a group particularly vulnerable to the effects of smoking. Participants were 9,008 young adolescents (aged 11–16 years) from the Netherlands. Associations between factors were tested separately as well as in a combined model using multiple logistic regression analyses. Adolescents with current asthma were more at risk of being current regular smokers. Higher scores on parental involvement and strictness, antismoking socialization, and parental smoking abstinence were associated with lower odds of adolescent smoking. Parents of asthmatic adolescents were more likely to use involvement and strictness. Despite the increased health risks of smoking for people with asthma, parents of asthmatic children were generally not more engaged in antismoking socialization; they just talked more about not smoking. Furthermore, parents of adolescents with asthma were more likely to smoke than were parents of adolescents without asthma. In general, multiple logistic regression analyses showed similar effects for nonasthmatic and asthmatic adolescents. Diagnosis of asthma should be followed by suggestions for parents on how to use antismoking socialization (e.g., setting rules). In addition, the importance of having nonsmoking parents in smoking prevention should be emphasized. Introduction Identification of psychosocial factors of adolescent smoking behavior is important in halting the rise and spread of tobacco consumption, which typically starts during adolescence and is related to high morbidity and mortality later in life. Many studies have shown that the process of maturation coincides with a substantial increase in vulnerability to risk behavior (e.g., Engels, 1998; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986). With regard to smoking, an annual survey among adolescents in The Netherlands has shown that smoking prevalence among adolescents increases from approximately 3% at age 12, to 40% at age 17 (Stivoro, 2003). Although peers become increasingly important during adolescence, parents are still considered to be important socializing agents during childhood, and therefore may affect smoking beha- vior of their children (e.g., Clark, Scarisbrick Hauser, Gautam, & Wirk, 1999; Engels, Finkenauer, Meeus, & Dekovic, 2001; Jackson & Dickinson, 2003). However, few studies have focused on the effects of parenting on smoking among groups of children for whom the health consequences of smoking are even more severe, such as children with asthma. Therefore, the present study concentrated on the associations between perceived parenting dimen- sions, antismoking socialization, parental smoking behavior, and adolescent smoking in a large sample of Dutch adolescents. We tested whether the effects of these factors differed for nonasthmatic and asthmatic adolescents. Most studies on parenting and smoking treat adolescents as a homogeneous group. However, the large group of adolescents with asthma is particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of smok- ing, and for these adolescents it is even more important that they not smoke. Smoking may ISSN 1462-2203 print/ISSN 1469-994X online # 2007 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco DOI: 10.1080/14622200601078426 Roy Otten, M.A., Rutger C. M. E. Engels, Ph.D., Regina J. J. M. van den Eijnden, Ph.D., Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Correspondence: Roy Otten, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, P. O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Tel: +1 31 24 3612140; Fax: +1 31 24 3612776; E-mail: r.otten@pwo.ru.nl Nicotine & Tobacco Research Volume 9, Number 1 (January 2007) 109–118 at Radboud University on March 24, 2010 http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org Downloaded from