ESPECIFICACIONES TÉCNICAS VIVIENDA Y OBRAS DE URBANISMO
1.2. ESPECIFICACIONES PARTICULARES QUE DEBE TENER CADA UNA DE LAS VIVIENDAS: 1. PUERTAS Y VENTANAS
Home and family influences on African-Caribbean young women have previously been noted in this chapter, with African-Caribbean young women spending more leisure time than their white peers with parents and siblings and also having greater involvement with religious activities. The influence of family and friends on cigarette smoking in young people was outlined in Chapter 2. Young people are more likely to smoke if they live in a household where other people smoke.
Parental smoking has been associated with young people’s smoking and has been well documented (Exter et al, 2004; Vink et al, 2003; Petersen et al, 2006).
However, researchers in the USA have reported that the effect of parental
disapproval was stronger than parental smoking status, i.e. whether or not parents smoked (Sargent and Dalton, 2001). Furthermore Resnick et al (1997) reported that family connectedness was protective of young people engaging in risky
between parental and peer influences in black and white families in the USA, concluded that black teenagers smoked less than white teenagers because black parents had clearer parental rules and consequences for failure to observe these rules. Gittelsohn et al (2001) suggested that African-Americans’ non-use of cigarettes was linked to a desire not to disrespect their parents. In addition they were averted from cigarette smoking by their parents’ addiction to nicotine. African-American female smokers in Gittelsohn et al’s study (aged 13–18) reported hiding smoking from parents as they felt that smoking in front of one’s mother was disrespectful. Chassin (1998), investigating the influence of mothers on young people’s smoking, concluded that young people who thought that they would be punished for smoking were less likely to smoke and less likely to be influenced by their peers.
Earlier I outlined that 50% of the young black women reported living only with their mother compared to 26% of white young women. Of the young white women who reported that their mother smoked, only one of 16 had never smoked and six smoked regularly (Table 28). Of the 15 young black women who reported that their mother smoked, three had never smoked and none of these young black women smoked regularly. Of the 16 young white women whose mothers smoked, three had tried smoking once while 8 out of 15 (53%) young black women had tried smoking once. Hence black women whose mothers smoked were three times more likely to have tried smoking once but did not become regular smokers. The fact that almost twice as many young black women lived in single-parent
households may have had some bearing on cigarette smoking behaviour. In research on cigarette smoking among African-American young people (Oredein and Foulds, 2011), the authors postulate that the increase of African-American young people living in single-parent households with only their mothers may affect African-American young peoples’ smoking prevalence as mothers had a lower smoking prevalence and had more negative views of cigarette smoking. This affected the attitudes of African-American young people to cigarette smoking. In my study, although there was a great level of experimentation among African- Caribbean young women, this did not develop into regular smoking.
Table 27: Smoking status of mothers and smoking status of young women. Mother smokes Smoking status of young women White (N=49) African-Caribbean and African (N=31
Yes Never smoked 1 3
Tried once 3 8
Used to smoke 5 3
Smokes sometimes 1 1
Smokes 1–6 per week 0 0
Smokes more than 6 per week 6 0 Sub-Total
16 15 No Never smoked 9 6 Tried once 6 3 Used to smoke 6 4 Smokes sometimes 5 0
Smokes 1–6 per week 5 2
Smokes more than 6 per week
2 1
Sub-Total
33 16
Total 49 31
Source: survey data.
Of the 33 young white women whose mother did not smoke, nine had never smoked and seven smoked regularly. Of the young black women whose mothers did not smoke, six did not smoke and three had tried smoking once. For black women, having a mother who smoked seemed to be associated with trying to smoke, but not with becoming a regular smoker. However, for white women having a mother who smoked did not seem to be associated with trying smoking once, but did seem to be associated with becoming a regular smoker. This may be related to whether the mother disapproved of smoking or laid down sanctions about
smoking. While mothers who smoke may find it harder to disapprove of their daughter’s smoking, proportionately fewer white women had never smoked.
The discussions in the focus groups, although conducted later, identified that while some of the young women’s mothers smoked cigarettes, they disapproved of cigarette smoking and actively tried to discourage their daughters from smoking. In the following excerpts young black women discuss their mothers’ cigarette
smoking practices:
Jade: My mum smokes. Keisha: My mum used to.
Researcher: So what pressures do you think there are say on your mum to smoke? What causes her to smoke?
Jade: My mum smokes, but I think she is smoking because of stress. Simone: I think my mum smokes because she is addicted to it. Alicia: It is mostly stress, I think.
Keisha: I think most people with children are the ones that smoke. (Focus group 1)
In this group, the young women discussed their mothers’ smoking which they attributed to coping with stress, coping with children and being addicted to cigarettes. This view was echoed in other discussions:
Researcher: Why do you think they smoke then? Simone: My mum smoked because of peer pressure.
Researcher: Do you think that is the reason why your parents smoke? Alicia: I think my mum has always smoked because she is stressed, and she is addicted to the cigarette, she can’t stop.
Researcher: Right. I don’t know how many of you know your grandparents? I bet your grandmothers didn’t smoke!
Alicia: No!
Keisha: My granddad smoked, he used to smoke but now he don’t. Researcher: So how do you think your grandmothers felt when their daughters started smoking? Your mothers?
Alicia: Yes, she doesn’t know, she just does it in front of me. I am the only one who knows.
Researcher: Gosh. So, why has there been that change between the grandparents and the mothers?
Alicia: Erm… they were born in different places.
Researcher: Is it because your grandparents were born in the Caribbean and Jamaica and your mothers were born here?
Alicia: Yes.
Researcher: So why has it changed again, now? ...Why have your generation stopped smoking?
In addition to the reasons for smoking regarding stress and addiction to cigarettes, one of the young women discussed the fact that although her mother smoked, her grandmother was unaware of this as her mother did not smoke in front of her own mother. The young women were also aware of differences between older African- Caribbean men and women in relation to cigarette smoking and that this might be due to differences in cultural acceptance of women smoking between the
Caribbean and the UK. The young women also remarked that the link between cancer and cigarettes was one of the reasons why smoking had declined among younger African-Caribbean women in the UK.
African-Caribbean adult women in the UK had high levels of cigarette smoking when compared to other women in 1995. In 1995 the Policy Studies Institute published the fourth national survey of ethnic minorities, conducted in England and Wales in 1993 and 1994 (Nazroo, 1997) in which 31% of African-Caribbean
women were reported as current smokers compared to 5% of Indian women, 4% of Pakistani women, 3% of African Asian women and less than 1% of Bangladeshi women. However, smoking rates among Black Caribbean women appeared to be declining. In 2008, 26% of English women, 24% of white Irish, 23% of other white and 22% of Black Caribbean women reported being regular smokers (Millward and Karlsen, 2011). Thus the prevalence of regular smoking was slightly lower among Black Caribbean women, and Millward and Karlsen (2011) argue that if these rates were adjusted for socio-economic status, Black Caribbean women would have significantly lower smoking rates than white English women. Thus despite their disadvantaged position, adult African-Caribbean women did not smoke to the same extent as their white peers.
National data suggest that young people are more likely to smoke if they live in a household where other people smoke. Only 4% of 11–15 year olds who reported smoking regularly lived in a household with no smokers (Fuller, 2007) while this rises to 10% where there is one smoker and 15% if there are two smokers.
Although parental smoking has long been associated with young people’s smoking (Exter et al, 2004), it appears that parental smoking is not associated with an increased risk of regular smoking behaviour among the young women in my study. In a qualitative study in the USA, Gittelsohn et al (2001) explored social influences on smoking behaviour among African-American and white and female
adolescents. Their study revealed that, while white females received permissive parental messages around cigarette smoking, males, particularly African-American
males, received the strictest parental sanctions. They suggested that African- American non-use of cigarettes was linked to a desire not to disrespect their parents. African-American female smokers in the study reported hiding smoking from parents as they felt that smoking in front of one’s mother was disrespectful and was disapproved of. The participants in my study said that although many of their parents smoked (particularly fathers), parents did not want their children to smoke and that on the whole black parents would not smoke in front of their children. Some young women revealed that their mothers tried to conceal the fact they smoked from their children.
Natalie: She knows it is bad for my health. If she wants a cigarette she goes outside.
Jasmine: Her mum shows respect, and the whites don’t do that, they do it in front of their children… look at Sarah (a white mother)… even when she is pregnant she is still smoking. (Focus group 5)
The young women reported that they would be punished by their parents if they were caught smoking. They were not able to smoke at home and they had a view that black parents were much stricter in monitoring what they did in their rooms. In some African and African-Caribbean families, while cigarette smoking was seen as wrong, cannabis smoking was deemed to be acceptable and was perceived to be more beneficial for one’s health than cigarettes.
African-Caribbean parents tried to stop young people from smoking by
punishment, withholding pocket money, stopping their children from associating with children who were known to smoke cigarettes and ‘beating’ as illustrated in the following discussion.
Researcher: What about pressure from parents? Both your parents, your mothers smoke. Do they try and stop you from smoking?
Natalie: Yes.
Solange: She wouldn’t give me any money if I did. Researcher: She would stop you from smoking? Solange: Yes, because she doesn’t want me to. Jasmine: My mum is stopping me from smoking.
Researcher: When you say ‘beat’ you mean beat? Salma: Yes, when you get beaten. (Focus group 5)
Earlier in this chapter I discussed the research literature on African-Caribbean families and discipline. The discussion above highlights the view that some young women had about getting punished for cigarette smoking. It appears that while physical punishment was practised in some African-Caribbean families, the extent to which this happens and the severity might need further exploration. Despite the negative portrayal of African-Caribbean single-parent households in the media and in some academic literature, the findings from my study suggest that African- Caribbean parents have a close relationship with their children, that they supervise their children closely and have clear sanctions and guidelines in relation to
cigarette smoking.
5.8 Conclusion.
In relation to African-Caribbean young women in this study, the survey data and the focus group findings point to the young women having a Black British
racialised identity and an African-Caribbean cultural identity. They are very aware of the ways in which ‘race’, culture, ethnicity, gender and class intersect in their day-to-day lives. The focus group findings demonstrated that African-Caribbean women constructed their racialised, gendered and classed identities in opposition to the identities of their white and African peers. It is evident that African-
Caribbean young women were more religious than their white female counterparts and spent more of their leisure time participating in religious activities. African- Caribbean women were also more likely to spend more time with their families. Their parents had high educational aspirations for their children. Although some Caribbean mothers might smoke, they were reported as enforcing stricter
regulations about smoking within the home. Parental disapproval of smoking has been demonstrated as a protective factor against smoking among young people. Similarly young people with educational aspirations are less likely to become regular smokers. A higher percentage of African-Caribbean mothers were
students, and the educational qualifications of parents have also been shown to be related to a lower uptake of cigarette smoking in young people. African-Caribbean women in this study were in a more socially disadvantaged position than their
white counterparts in terms of specific indicators such as parents’ occupation, housing, car ownership and free school meals. Both African-Caribbean and white young women had similar amounts of personal income (pocket money) and few perceived themselves to be working-class.
This chapter has demonstrated the reported family and community connectedness of African-Caribbean young women and indicates that religious, cultural and ethnic factors might militate against African-Caribbean young women becoming regular smokers. While young African-Caribbean women might be more likely to
experiment with smoking, they seem less likely than their white female peers to become regular smokers at this age. Thus their social and social context offered some protection against cigarette smoking. In Chapter 6 I will examine the influence of young women’s school environment, friendship networks and leisure activities on cigarette smoking.