Introduction. Familial factors such as family bonding and parental monitoring have been indicated as explanatory factors for some of the differences in national trends in adolescent smoking initiation and progression. However, little is known about the link between racial/ethnic differences and these family factors with adolescent smoking practices. Purpose. The aims of this application are to examine how race/ethnicity influences the family factors that are influential on adolescents'initial smoking initiation and then progression over time. Aims. We propose to test a model of smoking behaviors guided by The Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI). Within the TTI, we will examine the underlying distal and ultimate influences of smoking behavior. Distal influences that will be examined are parental bonding and connectedness, anti-smoking parenting, and role modeling of smoking. Ultimate influences include parental supervision and monitoring, family conflict, and acculturation. Examination of these influences will address our central hypothesis that racial/ethnic differences in smoking behavior are associated with differences in family attachment as well as pro-smoking influences. Further, these factors will differentially remain consistent in racial/ethnic subgroups that have the lowest rates of smoking behavior throughout adolescence. Aim 1: To determine the relative impact of family and prosmoking influences on concurrent smoking behavior among cross-sectional cohorts of African American, Hispanic, and White youth in their early (ages 9-11), mid (ages 12-13), and late (ages 14-18) adolescent years. Aim 2: To determine which specific familial and prosmoking influences in early adolescence are associated with initiation of smoking within a year. Aim 3: To examine the associations of initial and continuing familial and prosmoking influences with smoking stage progression. Methods. Our hypothesis will be addressed through secondary analysis of The National Survey of Parents and Youth (NSPY). The NSPY collected data from parents (N=7,334 at Round 1) and youth (N=7,796 at Round 1) during each of Rounds 1-4 of NSPY from 1999-2004. Data will be used to provide cross-sectional and longitudinal tests of the models of the initiation and progression of smoking behavior from early to late adolescence. Analyses. To address the cross- sectional analyses, a multi-level modeling approach will be used. Multinomial regression will be used to examine the association of the individual factors with adolescent smoking, followed by assessment of a combined model. After examination of smoking trajectories, latent growth curve modeling will be used to explore changes over time and pathways to tobacco use initiation, incorporating the repeated measures while still allowing for the categorical nature of the outcome measure. Conclusion. By clarifying the role of specific familial factors protective for smoking initiation and progression in different racial/ethnic subgroups and ages, the proposed project may aid in the development of more effective parent-based smoking prevention programs designed for diverse adolescent populations. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: There are racial/ethnic differences in the onset of adolescent smoking initiation and progression that may be explained by racial/ethnic differences in familial factors such as anti-smoking parenting practices. There is a strong need for new parental based anti-tobacco prevention interventions as a way to curb initiation and progression of adolescent smoking. However, it is unknown if familial factors that are protective in one racial sub-group are equally protective in another. The primary goal of this application is to explore how race/ethnicity affects familial factors that contribute to adolescents'smoking initiation and progression over time by secondary analysis of The National Survey of Parents and Youth. The results of this project will be essential to developing sound, culturally and age sensitive parental based anti-smoking interventions in the future.