More African-American adults smoke than their Caucasian compadres. Most smokers start when they’re teens. So it’d make sense that more black youth would smoke than white youth, right?
Not so fast, Amigo. New research out of the University of Washington found that 22 percent of white teens are smoking by 10th grade, compared to just 15 percent of black teens.
Researchers found that teens of all colors were more likely to smoke if their friends or one of their parents did. Researchers also found that African-American parents may be pretty effective–at least initially–in keeping their kids away from the cancer sticks. Problems are more likely to develop after high school, when African-American youth start leaving home.
“In general, good parenting, such as setting clear guidelines about drug use and forming strong relationships with your child reduces the likelihood of teens associating with deviant peers and has a significant impact on whether kids smoke or don’t smoke,” says researcher Martie Skinner. “Our findings are consistent with other research done here, which shows parents are important influences on their teenagers including who they should hang out with.” (ScienceDaily)
