Adolescents with strong parental support less likely to use tobacco products

The study, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physician-scientists and led by Nicholas Szoko, M.D., a fellow in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children's and his colleagues, suggests that strategies to prevent youth vaping may be different from what works to dissuade youth from smoking cigarettes.

A new study has found that young people with positive future orientation and strong parental support are less likely to use e-cigarettes or other tobacco products.

The study, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physician-scientists and led by Nicholas Szoko, M.D., a fellow in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children's and his colleagues, suggests that strategies to prevent youth vaping may be different from what works to dissuade youth from smoking cigarettes.

The researchers analyzed anonymous questionnaires administered in partnership with the Allegheny County Health Department and completed by 2,487 high school students in Pittsburgh Public Schools. They examined four protective factors validated by previous research including:

• Future orientation: A person's beliefs, hopes and goals related to the future
• Parental monitoring: Parent-child interactions and communication
• Social support: The ability to rely on friends and peers
• School connectedness: A sense of belonging and inclusion at school

In the research, positive future orientation and high levels of parental monitoring were both linked with a 10% to 25% lower prevalence of recently or ever vaping, compared to peers with lower scores on those protective factors

The study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh establishes the link between positive future orientation and high levels of parental monitoring were both linked with a 10% to 25% lower prevalence of recently or ever vaping, compared to peers with lower scores on those protective factors. All four protective factors were associated with a lower prevalence of smoking or use of other tobacco products, but none were linked to intent to quit using tobacco products, suggesting that once young people begin to use tobacco, quitting may be more difficult to promote.

"The use of e-cigarettes by young people is at epidemic proportions, with 27% of youth surveyed saying they'd vaped in the last 30 days. And a lot of the traditional methods we think of for counselling youth on the dangers of tobacco and drug use may not apply to vaping," lead author Nicholas Szoko, M.D., a fellow in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children's.

The findings of the study are published in the journal Pediatrics.

(With inputs from EurekAlert)