Children Of Smokers Tend To Be More Impulsive

Adolescents may have more in common with their smoking parents than previously thought, a new study conducted by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital finds.

These adolescents may also share a tendency to act impulsively, a trait that could be linked to a decision to become a smoker.

The study may help identify behavioral risk factors for adolescent smoking – risk factors that could increase some teens’ chance of addiction even before they pick up their first cigarette.

Brady Reynolds, PhD, the study’s lead author has focused much of his work on the connection between smoking and impulsivity, or more specifically, delay discounting.

Delay discounting describes a person’s preference for a smaller, more immediate reward over a larger reward that is delayed for a period of time. It also has been shown to play an important role in the behavior of cigarette smoking.