A physician by profession, Dr. Michael Klein most recently served the Texas Health Center as a staff physician. Michael Klein, MD, enjoys learning about child development and parenting in his free time.
Many parents hope to help their adolescent children avoid peer pressure, particularly as it regards harmful behaviors such as smoking. Children typically receive and internalize anti-smoking messages when they are young, as evidenced by consistently reported negative thoughts about smoking in children under 12 years of age. However, as these children age, they can succumb to messages from their friends, who become increasingly influential to an adolescent, that smoking increases social acceptance.
Over the years, a number of studies have investigated whether it is possible to “inoculate” children against such peer messages, just as a doctor would inoculate them against disease.
In medicine, an inoculation presents the body with a weakened version of the disease. Social inoculation uses a similar model in that it presents a child with potential pro-smoking arguments and allows them to role-play responses in a safe setting. In one study, after high school students guided middle school children in such role-playing, the younger participants were 50 percent less likely to become smokers.
Experts remind parents to be careful of how they present and practice these counter-arguments. If they come across as pressure or an application of power, the child may engage in the unhealthy behavior. Because the intervention aims to empower the child, any adult providing guidance must do so with an attitude of helping and supporting the child's own healthy decision.
