An Exploration of Family Influences on Smoking among Ethnically Diverse Adolescents

In an attempt to better understand mechanisms throughwhich families might influence adolescent smoking, focus group data collected as part of a larger study of ethnic and gender differences in teen smoking were analyzed for family-related themes. Across six sites, 132 focus groups were conducted with African American, American Indian, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and White youth. Similarities across race/ethnicity were evident in the content of antismoking messages and the feeling among youth that theywould get in trouble with their parents if caught smoking. African American and Asian/Pacific Islander youth appeared more concerned about their parents thinking less of them if they smoked than were youth from other racial/ethnic groups. White and American Indian youth were more likely to discuss that their parents felt it was their own decision as to whether or not to smoke than were the other groups.