Scimex: If the physical effects on your children were not good enough reasons to
stop smoking in your house, Canadian researchers have found a modest,
yet reliable long-term link between exposure to household tobacco smoke
and antisocial behaviour in early adolescence. The team recorded 1035
children that were exposed to household smokers at seven follow-up
interviews, between 1.5 and 7.5 years old, and at the age of 12,
children self-reported on five different aspects of antisocial
behaviours, with researchers finding that higher exposure to smoky homes
was linked to childrens' behavioural problems, aggression, lack of
discipline at school and increased risk of dropping out. The authors
suggest that a child's neuro-social development is being influenced by
the neurotoxic substances in second-hand smoke, which can lead their
newly forming brain pathways towards these deviant behaviours.
Researchers found modest, yet reliable long-term links between early
childhood household smoke exposure and self-reported antisocial behavior
in early adolescence.
For the study, parents of 1035 children
reported on the presence of household smokers at seven follow-ups from
ages 1.5 to 7.5. At age 12, children self-reported on five aspects of
early antisocial dispositions.
“The findings suggest that
neurotoxic second-hand smoke in the home during early childhood can
subsequently influence a child’s neuro-social development at a time when
maturational pathways toward more deviant behaviors risk becoming
entrenched,” said Dr. Linda Pagani, lead author of the
Indoor Air study.
