Delay discounting by the children of smokers and nonsmokers

This research compared delay discounting in mothers and their children (12 or 13 years of age). Half of the mothers (n = 15) were current smokers, and the other half (n = 15) reported never smoking. Considerable research has shown that adult smokers discount more by delay than nonsmokers, and that parent smoking is a risk factor for adolescent smoking. Thus, it was hypothesized that the mothers who smoked would discount more by delay than the mothers who had never smoked. Also, it was expected that children at increased risk for smoking (i.e., mother is smoker) would discount more by delay than children at lower risk for smoking (i.e., mother is nonsmoker). The results confirmed these hypotheses: mothers who smoked discounted significantly more than nonsmoking mothers; and, in a parallel fashion, children with mothers who smoked discounted significantly more than children of nonsmokers. These findings indicate that delay discounting may be a behavioral risk factor for adolescent cigarette smoking that predates any substantial use of nicotine.