Parents modelling, peer influence and peer selection impact on adolescent smoking behavior: A longitudinal study in two age cohorts

Abstract

Understanding the key factors that influence smoking behavior, especially during adolescence, has a meaningful impact on public health. This study examined the impact of parent modelling, peer influence and peer selection on adolescent smoking behavior in two Portuguese cohorts followed for three years.A questionnaire was delivered in classes and schools randomly selected, three times, one per year (cohort1: time1-7th, time2-8th, time3-9th; cohort2: time1-10th, time2-11th, time3-12th graders).The sample included a total of 656 students (402 younger [time1 Mage = 13.17, SD = 0.53, 63.7% girls;] and 254 older [time 1 Mage = 16.20, SD = 0.53, 65% girls]).Longitudinal data were examined through an autoregressive cross-lagged model (ARCL). The model explained 35% of the variance in smoking behavior at T3 for the global sample (4% for the younger and 58% for the older).Over time, in both cohorts, the percentage of never smokers decreased sharply and the percentage of regular smokers increased rapidly. We observed that participants in the older cohort had higher chances of smoking if their parents smoked. Nevertheless, we did not find a parental modelling effect in the longitudinal model. Peer influence and peer selection influenced smoking behavior. However, peer selection influenced the youngest group, both processes influenced the middle age group, and only peer influence influenced the oldest. Best friend and friends had a stronger impact on the younger while friends and same grade students had a stronger impact on the older. Prevention programs should regard these differences of interpersonal influences through adolescent development and specific strategies for different age groups should be considered.

With a Little Help from Their Peers: The Impact of Classmates on Adolescents’ Development of Prosocial Behavior

“…Therefore, observed similarity among friends may be due to selection effects, socialization effects, or a combination of both. A three-wave longitudinal study of peer influences on adolescents' smoking behavior used a crosslagged design to separate selection from socialization effects and found evidence for both paths (Vitória et al 2020). Adolescents' smoking behavior in their younger cohort, similar in age to the present sample, predicted the choice of friend who smoked at Time 2, and friends' smoking behavior at Time 2 predicted participants' smoking behavior at Time 3.…”

“…A broad research literature has demonstrated the influence of peers on adolescents' behavior in a variety domains. The focus of this research has been on problem behaviors, such as smoking and drinking (Ragan 2020;Vitória et al 2020), problematic social media use (Marino et al 2020), and aggressive and antisocial behavior (Jung et al 2019).…”

Ecological Exploration of Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Tobacco and E-Cigarettes Among Primary School Children, Teachers, and Parents in Wales: A Qualitative Study

“…This was reflected in both limitations to pupil knowledge compared with smoking and also in less evidence of bi-directional communication between child and micro-system levels, specifically parents and school, with children more likely to acquire e-cigarette knowledge from a user they know than either teachers or non-using parents. In later adolescence, while family function retains importance, peer influence assumes greater significance on attitudes and behaviours for smoking, 43 suggesting that communication from family at this age may be highly important in future outcomes. Absence of clear messaging on e-cigarettes within families and from schools means inevitable variations in pupil understanding that is more observable than for smoking, where curriculum content is established and harms are well-evidenced.…”

Schools Have Contextual Influence on Smoking Behavior among High School Students in Dumai, Riau

“…Previous researchers found that intergenerational transmission, which influenced factors due to the lack of rules at home related to cigarettes (Vitória et al, 2020), lack of discussion of the dangers of smoking (Mak, 2018), and lack of parental supervision of children. Parents who smoke also have difficulty in keeping their children from smoking.…”