Depression, Sensation Seeking, and Maternal Smoking as Predictors of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

The purpose of this study was to examine maternal and adolescent depression, maternal and teen sensation seeking, and maternal smoking, and their associations with adolescent smoking. Data were collected from a sample of 47 male and 66 female adolescents (ages 11-18 years) and their mothers from three different health clinics. The findings indicated that maternal sensation seeking was linked indirectly with adolescent smoking through teen sensation seeking, both of which were significantly associated with teen smoking (beta = 0.29, p < 0.001 and beta = 0.32, p < 0.001, respectively). Teen depression was associated positively with teen smoking (beta = 0.24, p < 0.01) when controlling for sensation seeking behaviors. Maternal smoking was also directly linked to adolescent smoking (beta = 0.20, p < 0.05). These findings underscore a potentially important role of sensation seeking in the origins of adolescent smoking, and clarify pathways of influence with regard to maternal attitudes and behaviors in subsequent teenage nicotine use.