Green, G., Macintyre, S., West, P. & Ecob, R. Like Parent Like Child? Associations between drinking and smoking behaviour of parents and their children. Br. J. Addict. 1991; 86: 745-58.

This paper examines the association between the smoking and drinking behaviours of parents and their adolescent children, and the effect of gender and social class upon this association. It is based on data collected from a cohort of young people and their parents, resident in the west of Scotland. Both social class and parental smoking behaviour were independently associated with young people's smoking with young people from lower social class households or whose parents smoke being more likely to smoke. Social class and gender were independently associated with young people's drinking with males and young people from non-manual households being more likely to drink. Parental drinking was associated with young people's drinking only in non-manual social classes and among daughters. We conclude that it is important to take social class and gender into account since it may influence whether or not there is an association between the behaviour of young people and that of their parents, and it may influence young people's behaviour in addition to influences from parental behaviour.

Ecob, R. & Williams, R. Sampling Asian minorities to assess health and welfare. J.Epidemiol. Comm. Health. 1991; 45: 93-101.

The study aims (1) to sample a specified subgroup of the Asian minority; (2) to give proper representation to those outside the area of concentration; and (3) to evaluate the costs and benefits of the method. Glasgow postcode sectors with varying concentrations of Asians were sampled, and 137 Asians aged 30-40 were interviewed after household screening of the electoral roll or valuation roll. Areas with few Asians, and households with two or more members aged 30-40 were undersampled and then reweighted. Nurse measures of blood pressure, lung function and body mass were taken and selected interview measures of health and social background reported. Substantial differences in blood pressure, reported health and social background were revealed between Asians in areas of concentration and those in areas of dispersion. Loss in effective sample size due to undersampling and reweighting was 4-5 % in the case of area sampling and 13% in the case of household sampling. Loss of potential household members through under registration were probably less than 6%. The present sampling method targets subgroups successfully and improves on sampling in areas of concentration in that it enables dispersed members of the minority, who differ in crucial indices of health and social position, to be represented. The costs of the method are acceptable (Appendix gives SPSSX code and theory for the construction of standardised weights).

Macintyre, S., Watt, G., West, P. & Ecob, R. Correlates of blood pressure in 15 year olds in the West of Scotland. J. Epidemiol. Comm. Health. 1991; 45: 143-7.

This study aims to examine social and physical correlates of blood pressure in 15 year olds, using data from the first, baseline, sweep of 15 year olds based on a two stage clustered random sample in Central Clydeside Conurbation (West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study). In males blood pressure was mainly related to anthropometric factors whereas in females it was additionally related to socio-economic and behavioural variables. Although not reaching significance, the weight standardised relationship between birthweight and systolic blood pressure was consistent for males, but not females, with those reported by recent British studies of children and adults.