[Influence of parental tobacco dependence and parenting styles on adolescents' tobacco use].

OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of parenting styles and of parental smoking and nicotine dependence on their adolescent children's tobacco use.

METHODS: This study, conducted in 2005, included 542 students from a French high school and 312 of their parents. The student sample had a mean age of 17 and 66% girls (n=360). Tobacco consumption and dependence were assessed for parents and students by the Fagerström test for nicotine dependence (FTND) and for the students only by the Hooked on Nicotine Checklist (HONC). Students were also asked about use of other psychoactive substances and completed the Authoritative Parenting Index (API). Parenting styles were classified as authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, or neglectful.

RESULTS: Although 70% of the girls and 72% of the boys had tried smoking, only 12.5% were daily smokers. The mean FTND score was 1.3 (n = 156 respondents), and the mean HONC score 3.9 (n = 160). Fathers smoked more than mothers and had a higher mean FTND score: 2.8 (n = 35) versus 1.7 (n = 32) for mothers. Tobacco use by each parent was correlated with that of the other (r=0.49, p<0.001). Adolescents' tobacco consumption was correlated with that of their parents, especially their father and especially for boys (r=0.86, p<0.01). Age at starting smoking was associated with a young mother (r=0.60, p<0.001), while dependence (FTND) was associated with a young father. More broadly, tobacco dependence was associated with both parents' consumption and dependence, especially among girls. The use of other psychoactive substances was also associated with parental tobacco dependence, especially that of fathers and especially for boys. Inebriation and marijuana use in girls were also associated with maternal tobacco dependence, but less significantly. An authoritative parenting style tended to be associated with their children's less frequent tobacco consumption and less severe dependence, whereas neglectful and indulgent styles were associated with more frequent consumption and greater dependence; the age at which boys began smoking daily was linked to a maternal neglectful style, and a paternal authoritarian style was associated with paternal tobacco dependence in boys and maternal dependence in girls. We also found this type of correlation for other psychoactive substances, in particular, for inebriation and cannabis use, which decreased in families with an authoritative parenting style. This style appears protective.