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

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

Notes

*Bold print indicates statistically significant results of p < .05.

†Odds ratios were adjusted for age, gender, highest level of parental education, parental smoking status, and race/ethnicity.

*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

†Odds ratios were adjusted for age, gender, highest level of parental education, parental smoking status, and race/ethnicity.

*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.