Data from three studies were used to investigate whether the establishment of a no-smoking agreement is related to lower odds of adolescent smoking. The prevalence of a no-smoking agreement was first explored by using a national sample involving 4,501 Dutch adolescents. Second, data from a longitudinal study among 595 early adolescents and their parents were used to test whether establishing a no-smoking agreement prevents adolescents from smoking. Third, the authors tested among 856 early- and mid-adolescents and their parents, whether in addition to the establishment of a no-smoking agreement, the frequency and quality of communication on smoking issues had an effect on adolescent smoking. The findings do not support that establishing a no-smoking agreement is an effective deterrent with regard to adolescent smoking. Parents who want to prevent smoking might consider focusing their efforts on establishing a good quality of communication on smoking issues whereas parents who just talk a lot about smoking issues without considering the quality of their communication might do more harm than good.
Aguinis, R. (2004). Regression analysis for categorical moderators . New York: Guilford Press.
2.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3.
Botvin, G.J. (2000). Preventing drug abuse in schools: Social and competence enhancement approaches targeting individual-level etiologic factors. Addictive Behaviors, 25, 887-897.
4.
Chassin, L., Presson, C.C., Rose, J., Sherman, S.J., Davis, M.L., & Gonzalez, J.L. (2005). Parenting style and smoking-specific parenting practices as predictors of adolescent smoking onset. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 30, 333-344.
5.
Chassin, L., Presson, C.C., Sherman, S.J., & Edwards, D.A. (1990). The natural history of cigarette smoking: Predicting young-adult smoking outcomes from adolescent smoking patterns. Health Psychology, 9, 701-716.
6.
Clark, P.I., Scarisbrick-Hauser, A., Gautam, S.P., & Wirk, S.J. (1999). Anti-tobacco socialization in homes of African-American and White parents, and smoking and nonsmoking parents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 24, 329-339.
7.
den Exter Blokland, E.A.W., Engels, R.C.M. E., Hale, W.W., III, Meeus, W., & Willemsen , M.C. (2004). Lifetime parental smoking history and cessation and early adolescent smoking behaviour. Preventive Medicine, 38, 359-368.
8.
den Exter Blokland, E.A.W., Hale, W.W., III, Meeus, W., & Engels, R.C.M.E. (2006). Parental anti smoking socialization and adolescent smoking onset. European Addiction Research , 12, 25-32.
9.
de Vries, H., Mudde, A., Leijs, I., Charlton, A., Vartiainen, E., Buijs, G., et al. (2003). The European Smoking Prevention Framework Approach (EFSA): An example of integral prevention. Health Education Research, 18, 611-626.
10.
Dishion, T.J., & McMahon, R.J. (1998). Parental monitoring and the prevention of child and adolescent problem behavior: A conceptual and empirical formulation. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1, 61-75.
11.
Engels, R.C.M.E., Knibbe, R.A., & Drop, M.J. (1999). Predictability of smoking in adolescence: Between optimism and pessimism. Addiction, 94, 115-124.
12.
Engels, R.C.M.E., Vitaro, F., den Exter Blokland, A., De Kemp, R., & Scholte, R. (2004). Parents, friendship selection processes and adolescent smoking behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 531-544.
13.
Engels, R.C.M. E., & Willemsen, M. (2004). Communication about smoking in Dutch families: Associations between anti-smoking socialization and adolescent smoking-related cognitions. Health Education Research, 19, 227-238.
14.
Ennett, S.T., Bauman, K.E., Foshee, V.A., Pemberton, M., & Hicks, K.A. (2001). Parent-child communication about adolescent tobacco and alcohol use: What do parents say and does it affect youth behavior? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 48-62.
15.
Fagerstrom, K.O. (1991). Towards better diagnoses and more individual treatment of tobacco dependence. British Journal of Addiction, 86, 543-547.
16.
Harakeh, Z., Engels, R.C.M.E., De Vries, H., & Scholte, R. (2006). Correspondence between proxy and self-reports on smoking in a full family study. Drugs and Alcohol Dependence , 84, 40-47.
17.
Harakeh, Z., Scholte, R., De Vries, H., & Engels, R.C.M.E. (2005). Parental rules and communication: their association with adolescent smoking. Addiction, 100, 862-870.
18.
Harakeh, Z., Scholte, R., De Vries, H., Vermulst, A., & Engels, R.C.M.E. (2004). Parental factors, smoking specific cognitions and early onset of smoking. Preventive Medicine, 39, 951-961.
19.
Henriksen, L., & Jackson, C. (1998). Anti-smoking socialization: Relationship to parent and child smoking status. Health Communication, 10, 87-101.
20.
Hill, K.G.J., Hawkins, D., Catalano, R.F., Abbott, R.D., & Guo, J. (2005). Family influences on the risk of daily smoking initiation. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37, 202-210.
21.
Jackson, C. (1997). Initial and experimental stages of tobacco and alcohol use during late childhood: relation to peer, parent, and personal risk factors. Addictive Behaviors, 22, 685-698.
22.
Jackson, C., & Henriksen, L. (1997). Do as I say: parent smoking, antismoking socialization, and smoking onset among children. Addictive Behaviour, 22, 107-114.
23.
Kerr, M., Statin, H., & Trost, K. (1999). To know you is to trust you: parents' trust is rooted in child disclosure of information. Journal of Adolescence , 22, 737-752.
Kremers, S.P.J., Mudde, A.N., & de Vries, H. (2001). Kicking the initiation: Do adolescent ex-smokers differ from other groups within the initiation continuum? Preventive Medicine, 33, 392-401.
26.
Otten, R., Harakeh, Z., Vermulst, A.A., Van Den Eijnden, R.J.J.M., & Engels, R.C.M.E. , (2007). Frequency and quality of parental communication as antecedents of adolescent smoking cognitions, and smoking onset. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 1-12.
27.
Stanton, W.R. (1995). DSM-III-R tobacco dependence and quitting during late adolescence. Addictive Behaviors, 20, 595-603.
28.
Van Der Vorst, H., Engels, R.C.M. E., Deković, M., Van Leeuwe, J., & Meeus, W. (2005). The role of alcohol specific socialization on adolescents' drinking behavior. Addiction, 100, 1464-1474.
29.
Vink, J.M., Willemsen, G., Engels, R.C.M. E., & Boomsma, D. (2003). Does the smoking behavior of parents, siblings and friends influence smoking behavior in adolescent twins? Twin Research, 6, 209-217.
