American Academy of Pediatrics
Adolescents whose friends and parents smoke are at greater risk of progressing from merely experimenting with cigarettes to becoming daily smokers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. Almost 60 percent of youths who began lighting up by eighth grade are full-blown smokers before they graduate from high school.
Factors that mitigate parental smoking’s influence on youth’s smoking behaviors include the parent’s appropriate use of positive and negative consequences and their ability to monitor their child, effectively, the study states. Neither family bonding nor family conflict significantly affects a youth’s smoking progression.
According to the study, factors increasing a youth’s risk of smoking escalation include depression and anti-social beliefs; factors decreasing that risk include the youth’s academic grades and school commitment. Free, 10 pages. (847) 434-4000 http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2008-2015v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=+Dr.+Min+Jung+Kim+smoking&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT.
