Short communication Moderation of the association between parent and adolescent cigarette smoking by selected sociodemographic variables Olivia Silber Ashley a, ⁎, Michael A. Penne a , Kellie M. Loomis a , Marni Kan a , Karl E. Bauman a , Molly Aldridge a, 1 , Joseph C. Gfroerer b , Scott P. Novak a a RTI International, Post Office Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194 USA b Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, 1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 7-1044, Rockville, MD 20857 USA article info abstract This study examines variation in the associations between cigarette smoking by mother or father and adolescent cigarette smoking by selected sociodemographic characteristics. The study data are from nationally representative samples of adolescents aged 12 to 17 living with their mothers (n =4734) and/or fathers (n =3176). Mother cigarette smoking was more strongly associated with cigarette smoking by daughters than sons. The association between father cigarette smoking and adolescent cigarette smoking did not vary by adolescent gender. The association between mother or father cigarette smoking and adolescent cigarette smoking did not vary by parent's education, family structure, or adolescent age or race/ethnicity. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Youth smoking Parental smoking Parental influence Gender 1. Introduction Parent cigarette smoking has been identified as a significant risk factor for adolescent cigarette smoking (Bauman, Carver, & Gleiter, 2001). Sociodemographic characteristics may moderate the association between parent and adolescent cigarette smoking. For example, it has been posited that the association between parent and adolescent cigarette smoking may weaken as adolescents age (Ausubel, Montemayor, & Svajian, 1977), or peer influence may increase as adolescents age while the influence of parents remains generally the same (Brown, 1990). Other research tempers these conclusions (Bauman et al., 2001; Kandel, 1996). A greater need for intimacy and family ties among girls may make parents' cigarette smoking more strongly associated with daughters' smoking than with sons' smoking. Parents' cigarette smoking may be more influential on white adolescents than on adolescents from other racial/ethnic groups (Bauman et al., 2001; Griesler & Kandel, 1998). Parent education and family structure may also influence the association between parent and adolescent cigarette smoking, but few studies have examined these variables by formal moderation analyses. This study examines selected sociodemographic characteristics that might modify the association of cigarette smoking between mothers or fathers and their adolescents in large, nationally representative samples of adolescents living with their mothers or fathers. 2. Methods 2.1. Sample We analyzed data from adolescents aged 12 to 17 and their biological, step-, adoptive, or foster mother (n =4734) or father (n =3176) who lived in the home who were selected for the 2002 and 2003 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Addictive Behaviors 33 (2008) 1227–1230 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 919 541 6427; fax: +1 919 485 5555. E-mail address: osilber@rti.org (O.S. Ashley). 1 Present address: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, CB 7595, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA. 0306-4603/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.04.012 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Addictive Behaviors