A qualitative assessment of college students' perceptions of health behaviors

American Journal of Health Studies, Spring-Summer, 2003 by Raffy R. Luquis, Erica Garcia, Darlene Ashford

The reasons students gave for smoking cigarette include the tendency to smoke while drinking, the use of cigarettes as a stress reducer, and the easy access on campus. Several of their comments included "when you are out drinking socially then you smoke," "[it] relieves stress," "out of boredom" and "smoking is all over campus." Most students recognized that cigarette smoking could be addictive, and as expressed in their comments "[smoking] is like a tranquilizer, altering your mood," "addicted because they started at an early age," "it is hard, you cannot say you can just stop," and "smoking is an addiction worse than alcohol, so, it is hard to quit." Students also agreed that the behavior of parents and peers influence their smoking behaviors. For example, a student commented about how he began smoking: "I was bored and stressed out--my Dad smokes and hey; I tried it. Three years later, I am still going strong." Another student stated, "If they [parents] smoked, the more likely you would smoke." A male student said, "[I] never smoked cigarettes until I lived with a girl last year ... quit [smoking] when I stopped living with her." Finally, some students mentioned that the University setting enables them to continue smoking by selling cigarettes on campus and allowing them to smoke in their rooms.

PERCEPTIONS AND ISSUES CONCERNING SEXUALITY

When students were asked about their beliefs concerning sexuality, most participants agreed that sexual activity at this age is acceptable and expected in college (see Table 5). A student said, "it is addictive, it is the freshmen fever" when referring to why many students engage in sexual activity in their first year. Once in college, students feel pressure to engage in sexual activity. For example, one student mentioned, "I thought when I came to college that it was about having sex every night." In contrast, other students focused on staying a virgin, therefore, emphasizing the importance of waiting until marriage. Indeed, one student specifically said, "a lot of people honor sex, and wait until they get married," and another student added, "some people hold strong to their morals (i.e., waiting to be married)."

Whether they have sex or wait to be in a committed relationship, most students agreed that the use of alcohol and drugs increase the likelihood that sexual intercourse will occur. In fact, students mentioned that drugs and alcohol help decrease their inhibitions and increase their sexual pleasure. In addition, students said that their views about sexuality are also influenced by what they see on TV, information they receive from friends, and what they see as social expectations (i.e., okay for guys to engage in sexual activity). Many of the participants talked about the double standard that exists regarding gender and sexual activity. The double standard suggest that it is okay for men to be actively engaged in sexual activity, but it not okay for women to do so. For example, a mate student said, "a guy sleeps around he's a stud. What is acceptable for guys is not for girls; girls would still be considered sluts." While students reported that it is okay to have either/or vaginal, oral and anal intercourse, violent sex (e.g., rape) is not acceptable.