Parent-Child Communication about Smoking (H/L Health Topic Summaries)

Abstract

The Parent-Child Communication about Smoking scale is a specialized sub-instrument derived from the larger Hispanic/Latino Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS). This brief measure is designed to assess key aspects of parental behavior and attitude regarding the prevention of tobacco use among youth. Specifically, it quantifies the frequency and nature of communication between a parent and child concerning tobacco restrictions, as well as the parent’s perception of their child’s current smoking status and their emotional reaction to potential youth smoking.

Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this instrument serves as a vital tool for public health surveillance, helping to identify protective communication factors and inform targeted interventions within the Hispanic/Latino community regarding adolescent smoking prevention.

Keywords

Tobacco use prevention, Parent-child communication, Parental attitude, Smoking cessation, Hispanic/Latino populations, Youth smoking, Health survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Authors

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Parent-Child Communication about Smoking scale is to provide researchers and public health officials with reliable data regarding parental involvement in youth tobacco prevention efforts. By measuring the frequency of communication and the strength of parental disapproval of smoking, the instrument helps identify families at risk and evaluate the effectiveness of community-based interventions aimed at reducing youth tobacco initiation.

This scale is crucial for understanding socio-cultural factors influencing health behaviors within the Hispanic/Latino community, allowing for targeted public health campaigns that emphasize effective parent-child dialogue about the dangers of smoking and the enforcement of household rules.

Construct

The instrument measures the construct of Parental Tobacco Control Efficacy, specifically focusing on two core dimensions: Communication Frequency and Enforcement (Items 1 and 2), and Parental Awareness and Disapproval (Items 3 and 4). These dimensions capture the degree to which parents actively engage in setting and enforcing clear boundaries regarding tobacco use, and their emotional and cognitive responses to the possibility of their child smoking.

The scale assumes that frequent, clear, and negative communication regarding tobacco use serves as a protective factor against youth smoking initiation. The assessment of parental knowledge regarding their child’s current smoking status (Item 3) is a proxy for parental vigilance and involvement, while Item 4 measures the parental attitude or affective response to the behavior.

Validity

As a component of the comprehensive CDC ATS, the items demonstrate strong Face Validity, directly addressing the behaviors and attitudes central to youth tobacco prevention. The scale exhibits Content Validity, covering both overt communication behaviors (frequency of discussion) and underlying affective components (displeasure regarding smoking).

While specific psychometric studies focused solely on this 4-item subset are often embedded within larger survey publications, the overall ATS structure relies on rigorous pilot testing and expert review to ensure construct alignment with established behavioral health models. High levels of parental disapproval and frequent communication are consistently correlated with lower rates of adolescent tobacco use, providing strong Criterion Validity.

Reliability

Standard reliability assessments for short scales often focus on internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s Alpha). Although the specific alpha coefficient for this 4-item measure is not provided in the source content, instruments derived from major national surveillance efforts like the ATS are generally designed for high Test-Retest Reliability, ensuring stable responses over short periods.

The categorical response options (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) offer clear delineation, minimizing measurement error. The scale’s utility often lies in its straightforward application in large epidemiological studies where precision in simple behavioral frequency counts is prioritized over complex latent variable modeling.

Factor Analysis

Given the structure of the four items, a simple Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) would likely suggest a two-factor solution, aligning with the proposed sub-constructs. Factor 1 would encompass the Behavioral Enforcement/Communication Frequency (Items 1 and 2), which load together as measures of active parental intervention.

Factor 2 would capture Cognitive and Affective Assessment (Items 3 and 4), addressing the parent’s perception of risk and their emotional response to the child’s smoking behavior. This dual-factor structure supports the use of the scale to measure distinct yet related facets of parental influence on youth tobacco use.

Instrument

Test Type: Behavioral and Attitudinal Self-Report Survey Subscale

Format: Four Likert-type items and frequency counts, administered via interview or self-completion questionnaire.

Language Available: English, Spanish (as part of the Hispanic/Latino ATS).

Population Group: Parents or primary caregivers of youth.

Age Group: Adults (Parents/Caregivers), assessing communication regarding children/adolescents (typically 12-17 years old).

Population Details: Primarily utilized within the U.S. Hispanic/Latino adult population for surveillance purposes, focusing on tobacco use prevention.

Test Methodology: Standardized survey administration, often conducted as part of a larger public health surveillance interview. Responses are typically summed or analyzed individually based on the research objective, with higher scores generally indicating greater communication frequency or stronger negative attitude toward smoking.

Keywords

Public health, Preventive communication, Parental involvement, Health behavior surveillance, Tobacco control, Epidemiological tools, Family dynamics.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not applicable (Organizational authorship)

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact information for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office on Smoking and Health, Atlanta, Georgia.

Correspondence Address: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was utilized in the Hispanic/Latino Adult Tobacco Survey Questionnaire developed by the CDC in 2007. As a public health surveillance instrument created by a U.S. government agency, the instrument is generally in the public domain and available for non-commercial research use without a fee. Users should cite the CDC appropriately.

Reference’s

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hispanic/Latino Adult Tobacco Survey Questionnaire. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/surveys/hispanic_latino_ats_guide/index.htm.

This instrument can also be found on pages 80-82 of Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=23171&Itemid=

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Items of the Parent-Child Communication about Smoking (H/L ATS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.