Parental Smoking and Adolescent Smoking: the Intergenerational Transmission of Heath-risk Behaviors

【Abstract】 Objective To determine the impact of parental smoking on adolescent smoking. Methods Data were retrieved from the China Health and Nutrition Surveys. Both Logistic regression and Tobit regression analyses were performed to estimate the intergenerational effects. Results The prevalence of adolescent smoking was 2.35%. The Logistic regression results showed that parental smoking was a risk factor for adolescent smoking. Estimations from Tobit regression showed that father smoking was also correlated with the numbers of cigarettes adolescent smoked. Conclusion An intergenerational effect was observed between parental smoking and adolescent smoking. In order to reduce adolescent smoking, parental smoking control should be targeted.