Parental control and Chinese adolescent smoking and drinking: The mediating role of refusal self-efficacy and the moderating role of sensation seeking

Based on Social-Cognitive Theory and Person × Environment Interaction Theory, a moderated mediation model was examined to investigate the mediating role of refusal self-efficacy and the moderating role of sensation seeking in the relation between parental control (behavioral control and psychological control) and smoking and drinking in adolescents. A total of 694 7th – 9th grade middle school students in China (M age = 13.67 years, SD = 1.20, 45.0% male) completed a multi-measure questionnaire tapping demographics, parental control, refusal self-efficacy, sensation seeking, and adolescent smoking and drinking. Mediation analyses indicated that higher levels of parental behavioral control related to lower levels of adolescent smoking and drinking via increasing adolescents' refusal self-efficacy; in contrast, higher levels of psychological control related to higher levels of adolescent smoking and drinking via decreasing adolescents' refusal self-efficacy. Furthermore, moderated mediation analyses showed that the association between parental behavioral control and refusal self-efficacy was moderated by individual differences in adolescents' sensation seeking. The indirect associations between parental behavioral control and adolescent smoking and drinking were stronger among students high in sensation seeking. The indirect associations between parental psychological control and adolescent smoking and drinking were not moderated by sensation seeking. Limitations and implications were discussed.