Parent characteristics, perceived health risk, and smokeless tobacco use among white adolescent males.

The results of this study indicate that father education, father use of smokeless tobacco, and adolescent risk perception contribute to the use of smokeless tobacco by white males 12 to 14 years of age. However, risk perception does not account for the correlation between parent characteristics and child behavior. Father education and child smokeless tobacco use are inversely related if the father does not use it, and they are directly related if the father does; this finding is consistent with theories of modeling but is contrary to the common observation that the use of some abusive substances is relatively low among adolescents in higher social and economic levels. We concluded that father characteristics should be considered in research and in programs pertaining to the use of smokeless tobacco by white adolescent males.