Role of grandparents in risky health behavior transmission: A study on smoking behavior in Norway

Emre Sari, Mikko Moilanen and Maarten Lindeboom

Social Science & Medicine, 2023, vol. 338, issue C

Abstract: Exploring the role of grandparents in the intergenerational transmission of risky health behaviors, specifically smoking, this study aims to examine the differential influence of maternal and paternal grandparents on their grandchildren's smoking behavior in adulthood. Utilizing the Tromsø Study's unique three-generational dataset from Tromsø, Norway, we employ a control function approach. The findings show a matrilateral bias, revealing that maternal grandparents' smoking behavior has a notable negative direct effect on the probability of their grandchildren's smoking. No such influence is observed in the case of paternal grandparents. Moreover, an indirect transmission of grandparental smoking behavior from grandparents to grandchildren through parents is identified, increasing on grandchildren's smoking probability. These results underscore the necessity of incorporating the influential role of grandparents, in crafting public health policies and family-centered interventions for tobacco use.

Keywords: Intergenerational transmission; Risky health behaviors; Tobacco smoking; Grandparents' influence; Matrilateral bias (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I12 J24 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:338:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623006962

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116339

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