Reliability of Offspring’s Reports on Parental Smoking History in

Smoking Surveys and Factors Affecting Responses

Stephanie Thau

Questions How reliable is offspring’s report

on parental cigarette use? Does the reliability differ between

siblings and twins? Can we identify characteristics

that impact the extent to which offspring’s reports of parental smoking match parent’s self-reports?

Sample The data comes from the NAG (Nicotine Addiction

Genetics) Project, conducted by Pam Madden, Ph.D., and the IRPG Project, conducted by Andrew Heath, D.Phil. There were 2713 families, with a total of 9688 participants, ranging in age from 18-91. Of those, 5163 (53.3%) were female and 4525 (46.7%) were male.

There were 1272 participants from 597 families with either a mother or father that participated in the survey. There were 515 mothers that participated and 374 fathers. Of those with at least one parent participating with a history of regular smoking, 89% experienced that parent smoking during their lifetime.

Percentages of Mom’s Reports of Their Own Smoking Compared to Offspring’s Reports of

Their Mom’s Smoking% of Moms Who Answered Yes

% of Offspring Who Answered Yes

If Mom Just Tried Smoking 41.04% 14.24%

If Mom Has Ever Smoked 82.33% 62.56%

If Mom Is a Regular Smoker 58.77% 48.88%

If Mom Is a Heavy Smoker 44.23% 32.99%

Note: Offspring used was the oldest offspring in a family

Percentages of Dad’s Reports of Their Own Smoking Compared to Offspring’s Reports of

Their Dad’s Smoking% of Dads Who Answered Yes

% of Offspring Who Answered Yes

If Dad Just Tried Smoking 19.06% 8.25%

If Dad Has Ever Smoked 96.79% 83.93%

If Dad Is a Regular Smoker 80.94% 77.35%

If Dad Is a Heavy Smoker 61.43% 62.74%

Note: Offspring used was the oldest offspring in a family

Variable Name Mom Dad

If Just Tried Smoking r= .46 r= .62

If Ever Smoked r= .77 r=. 78

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .96

If Heavy Smoker r= .62 r= .46

Correlation Between All Offspring’s Reports of Parental Smoking Habits (n=1732) and Parental

Self Report (mom n=515, dad n=374)

Variable Name Mom Dad

If Just Tried Smoking r= .48 r= .49

If Ever Smoked r= .77 r= .70

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .97

If Heavy Smoker r= .63 r= .35

All Female Offspring’s Reports of Parental Smoking Habits (n=886) Compared With

Parent’s Self Report (mom n=515, dad n=374)

Variable Name Mom DadIf Just Tried Smoking r= .44 r= .72

If Ever Smoked r= .78 r= .86

If Regular Smoker r= .95 r= .95

If Heavy Smoker r= .61 r= .57

All Male Offspring’s Reports of Parental Smoking Habits (n=846) Compared With

Parent’s Self Report (mom n=515, dad n=374)

All OffspringOffspring with history of Reg.

Smoking

If Just Tried Smoking r= .46 r= .47

If Ever Smoked r= .77 r= .77

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .96

If Heavy Smoker r= .62 r= .62

Reports of Parental Smoking Habits by Offspring with a History of Regular Smoking (n=1595)Compared With

Mom’s Self Report (n=515)

All OffspringOffspring with history of Reg.

Smoking

If Just Tried Smoking r= .62 r= .48

If Ever Smoked r= .78 r= .79

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .95

If Heavy Smoker r= .46 r= .43

Reports of Parental Smoking Habits by Offspring with a History of Regular Smoking (n=1595)Compared With

Dad’s Self Report (n=374)

Reports of Parental Smoking Habits by Offspring Who Were Exposed To Smoking in the Home (n=1121)

Compared With Mom’s Self Report (n=515)

Variable Name All Offspring MomIf Just Tried Smoking r= .46 r= .52

If Ever Smoked r= .77 r= .85

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .95

If Heavy Smoker r= .62 r= .59

Variable Name All Offspring Dad

If Just Tried Smoking r= .62 r= .70

If Ever Smoked r= .78 r= .82

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .88

If Heavy Smoker r= .46 r= .44

Reports of Parental Smoking Habits by Offspring Who Were Exposed To Smoking in the Home

(n=1121)Compared With Dad’s Self Report (n=374)

Twins Report Siblings Report

If Just Tried Smoking r= .51 r= .57

If Ever Smoked r= .90 r= .90

If Regular Smoker r= .97 r= .97

If Heavy Smoker r= .73 r= .72

Do Twins Have a Stronger Correlation(# of twin pairs, n=380) Than Siblings (n=1632)

in Report of Mom’s Smoking Habits?

Do Twins Have a Stronger Correlation(# of twin pairs, n=380) Than Siblings (n=1632)

in Report of Dad’s Smoking Habits?

Twins Report Siblings Report

If Just Tried Smoking r= .54 r= .51

If Ever Smoked r= .89 r= .89

If Regular Smoker r= .95 r= .95

If Heavy Smoker r= .64 r= .55

Are Female Siblings (n=918) More Reliable Than Male Siblings (n=697) in Report of Mom’s

Smoking Habits?

Female Siblings Male Siblings

If Just Tried Smoking r= .54 r= .63

If Ever Smoked r= .92 r= .89

If Regular Smoker r= .98 r= .94

If Heavy Smoker r= .70 r= .81

Female Siblings Male Siblings

If Just Tried Smoking r= .55 r= .51

If Ever Smoked r= .92 r= .88

If Regular Smoker r= .95 r= .94

If Heavy Smoker r= .63 r =.58

Are Female Siblings (n=918) More Reliable Than Male Siblings (n=697) in Report of Dad’s

Smoking Habits?

Does Having a Parent With A Drinking Problem (n=520) or Who Drinks Excessively (n=576) Affect Reliability with Mom’s Responses?

All Drinking problem Drinks Excessively

If Just Tried Smoking r= .46 r= .49 r= .44

If Ever Smoked r= .77 r= .92 r= .85

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .95 r= .93

If Heavy Smoker r= .62 r= .74 r= .76

Does Having a Parent With A Drinking Problem (n=520) or Who Drinks Excessively (n=576)

Affect Reliability With Dad’s Responses?

All Drinking problem Drinks Excessively

If Just Tried Smoking r= .62 r= .64 r= .71

If Ever Smoked r=. 78 r= .99 r= .99

If Regular Smoker r= .96 r= .92 r=.94

If Heavy Smoker r= .46 r= .51 r= .51

For all offspring, reliability is moderate to high in all instances except for dad’s history of regular smoking.

Female offspring were less likely to correctly report their father’s self-reported smoking habits compared to male offspring.

Female and male offspring were similar in report of their mother’s smoking behaviors.

Conclusions

Conclusions (continued)

There was not a subsequent change in reliability of responses if the offspring was a regular smoker.

There is no substantial difference in reliability if the offspring was exposed to smoking in the home.

The reliability of twin’s report of parental smoking behaviors is similar to that of other siblings.

If offspring reported at least one parent with a drinking problem or that drank excessively, their responses concerning the parent’s smoking behavior were more highly correlated with the parent’s self-reported smoking behavior. Since alcohol problems are correlated with smoking habits, offspring might have a heightened awareness of their parent’s smoking.

Conclusions (continued)

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References