Parental Attachment and Adolescent Cigarette Smoking Initiation

Abstract

Parental attachment is central to many theories of development but has received little attention in studies of adolescent problem behaviors. This study tests two models of how parental attachment may influence adolescent cigarette smoking, both based on the Hirschi control theory. Each model specifies a different causal ordering among three variables that are at the core of the theory: attachment to parents, commitment to conventional activities, and belief in the conventional rules of society. The direct effects model specifies that parental attachment will have a direct effect on adolescent behavior. The mediation model specifies that the attachment and behavior relationship is mediated by belief and commitment. Panel data from a probability sample of 685 adolescents were used. The findings suggest that parental attachment has a direct effect on adolescent cigarette smoking and an effect mediated by adolescent's beliefs in the conventional rules of society.