Cigarettes and cinema: does parental restriction of R-rated movie viewing reduce adolescent smoking susceptibility?

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
To examine the relationship between exposure to pro-smoking messages in media and susceptibility to smoking adoption among middle school students. The hypothesis that parental restriction of R-rated movie viewing is associated with lower adolescent smoking susceptibility was tested.

METHODS:
A sample of 1687 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students from four Wisconsin middle schools were surveyed about their use of cigarettes, exposure to smoking in media, their views of smoking, and peer smoking behaviors.

RESULTS:
An index of smoking susceptibility was created using measures of cigarette use and future intention to smoke. A zero-order correlation for parental restriction of R-rated movie viewing and smoking susceptibility showed a strong association (r = -.36, p < .001). A hierarchical logistic regression yielded odds ratios (ORs) for being susceptible to or having tried smoking for three levels of parental R-rated movie restriction. Results show that compared to full restriction, respondents with partial or no restriction were more likely to be susceptible to smoking (partial restriction:
OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.5-2.8; no restriction:
OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 2.3-4.6), when controlling for demographic factors, and family and friend smoking. Analyses using a measure of smoking prevalence as the dependent variable yielded similar results (partial restriction:
OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0-2.2; no restriction:
OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.7-3.7).

CONCLUSIONS:
Parental restriction of R-rated movie viewing is associated with both lower adolescent smoking susceptibility and lower smoking rates.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Thompson, Ellen M (EM); Gunther, Albert C (AC);

Affiliation: Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.

Grants: 5R21CA100250-2 (Agency:NCI NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine (J Adolesc Health), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Feb; vol 40 (issue 2) : pp 181.e1-6

Dates: Created 2007/01/29; Completed 2007/04/03; Revised 2007/12/05;

PMID: 17259061, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Male
Motion Pictures as Topic
Parent-Child Relations
Prevalence
Questionnaires
Smoking - epidemiology; prevention & control
Wisconsin - epidemiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.