Do children of lone parents smoke more because their mothers do?

This short report examines the association between smoking behaviours of mothers and their 15 year old children, and whether there is a difference between families headed by a mother living alone or with a partner. It is based on data collected from a cohort of young people and their mothers (N = 967), resident in the West of Scotland. We found no evidence that children of lone mothers smoke more because their mothers do; the familial transmission of smoking behaviour, at 15, appeared to be less apparent in households headed by lone than cohabiting mothers.