Measuring secondhand smoke exposure in babies: The reliability and validity of mother reports in a sample of low-income families

The reliability and validity of mother's reports of their infants' exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of low-income, low-education families (N = 141 mothers). At baseline and post test, smoking mothers reported about their infants' SHS exposure at differe nt locations and by different sources during the previous week. Findings sh ow that mothers can give reliable accounts of the degree to which they cont ribute to their babies' SHS exposure. Mothers are able to differentiate bet ween their own smoking behavior and the extent to which they expose their i nfants. Consistent with the overall exposure pattern. exposure caused by th e mother and exposure occurring at home showed the strongest associations w ith biological and environmental measures. These findings suggest that smok ing mothers can provide reliable and valid reports of the degree to which t heir infants are exposed to SHS.