A European research results showed that, in homes where parents smoke, there is a significant degree of inter-generational transmission of it to children, particularly to individuals of the same gender.
“Fathers transmit their smoking habits to a statistically significant level to their sons, and the same is true of mothers and daughters. However, if a mother smokes it does not seem to impact on the probability of her son smoking, and similarly a father that smokes does not affect his daughter,” Loureiro, a researcher at the USC and co-author of the study, tells SINC, Science Daily reported.
The research, which has been published in the journal Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, is based on information from the British Household Panel Survey 1994-2002.
“We selected this data source because it gives detailed information on the products consumed in households, including tobacco, making it possible to analyse the transmission of smoking habits between generations”, the experts explain.
The study was carried out in homes where both parents were present as well as in single parent households, which were primarily headed by mothers.
“The results obtained show that, in terms of smoking habits, after taking socio-economic variables into account, daughters tend to imitate their mothers, while sons imitate their mothers”, says Loureiro. The estimated probabilities of a son smoking if both parents smoke is 24 percent, but this falls to almost 12 percent if neither of the parents smokes. For daughters, the probability of smoking if both parents smoke is 23 percent, also falling to 12 percent if neither of the parents smokes. In single-parent households, mothers transmit their smoking habits to their children – regardless of their gender. In this case, a son’s likelihood of smoking if the mother smokes is 32 percent, and 28 percent for a daughter.
“These results have clear importance in terms of designing public policies to combat smoking. Policies that are successful in reducing smoking habits among parents will also affect their children. Anti-smoking policies for young people need to be put in place that will also include the family and social context in which they live”, explains Loureiro.
Good relationship with teacher protect first graders from aggression: Children who have a good relationship with their teacher may be protected from expressing aggression and being the target of aggression at school. That’s the key finding in a new study of Canadian first graders thatappears in the journal Child Development, Medical News Reported.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Quebec at Montreal, Laval University, the University of Alabama, the University of Montreal, and University College Dublin.
“Aggressive behavior in middle childhood is at least partly explained by genetic factors, but genetic influences on behavior usually don’t operate independently of environmental influences,” notes Mara Brendgen, professor of psychology at the University of Quebec at Montreal, who led the study.
Researchers studied 217 Canadian identical and fraternal twin pairs at age seven to delve into the interplay between nature and nurture involving the source of aggression in the children.
Twin pairs weren’t in the same classrooms, but had different teachers and different classmates. Classmates rated the twins’ level of aggressive behavior and the extent to which they were victimized by peers.
The twins’ teachers rated the quality of their relationship with each twin. Genetic effects on aggression were estimated by comparing the similarity in behaviors of identical and fraternal twin pairs.
The study found that children who were genetically vulnerable to being aggressive were more likely to be victimized by their classmates than others. However, these children were protected from acting aggressively and being the target of other children’s aggression if they had a good relationship with their teacher a relationship that was warm and affectionate and involved open communication.
“Children’s relationships with teachers and with peers in school play a critical role in shaping their social-behavioral development,” notes Brendgen. Our study found that a good relationship with the teacher can protect genetically vulnerable children from being aggressive and, in consequence, from becoming the target of other children’s aggressive behavior.”
The findings can inform interventions aimed at addressing children’s aggression, and can also be used in teacher-training efforts.
Smoking habits transmit from parents to children
