Colleges students' attitudes toward smoking

College Student Journal, Sept, 2002 by Frank Biasco, James P. Hartnett

The study of college students' attitudes toward smoking was conducted among the students attending a northwest Florida university. The sample consisted of one-tenth (810) of the student population during the spring term with the subjects being randomly selected after being stratified for gender and race. The instrument consisted of 19 statements dealing with attitudes toward smoking and used a 3-point Likert-type scale with "agree," "uncertain," and "disagree" options. The findings are discussed in relation to other research on attitudes toward smoking.

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College Students' Attitudes Toward Smoking

Attitudes are often studied to determine the behaviors of individuals. Biasco (1989, 1991, 1992, 1999, in press) has conducted numerous studies of college students to determine how their attitudes and behavior compare with those of the general public. Because of the high level of interest in smoking and its consequences, the study was conducted to determine college students' attitudes toward smoking in a conservative, Bible-belt community in northwest Florida, with the increased concern for good health and the increased cost of cancer resulting from smoking, questions have been often raised about the impact of smoking upon the college student population. Of particular interest was whether the smoking attitudes and behaviors of smoking at the University of West Florida differed from other college student populations across the nation.

According to Wechsler, Rigotti, Gledhill-Hoyt, and Lee (1998), cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Arguably, this has resulted in a change in attitudes about smoking. In fact, Blendon (1998) reported that American attitudes have changed remarkably since the mid- 1980s. His research indicated that the majority of Americans now favor increased regulation and taxation on tobacco products. These attitudes propelled the 106th United States Congress to introduce 50 bills concerning the topic of smoking (Thomas Legislative Information on the Internet, 2000). In fact, in Florida, there is an effort underway through a public initiative to place on the ballot a proposed amendment to prohibit smoking in all public places including restaurants (Norman, 2001).

In a study by Hines, Fretz, and Nollen (1998), both smokers and non-smokers believed that smoking was detrimental to good health. Yet, the research by DeBernardo, Aldinger, Dawood, Hanson, Lee, and Rinaldi (1999) indicated that although 98% of college students were aware of the consequences of smoking, only 39% of smokers desired to quit smoking while 11% of non-smokers wanted to start smoking. Also, Wechsler et al. (1998) reported cigarette smoking by college students rose 28% from 1993 to 1997. They also discovered over one quarter of students began smoking after beginning college. In addition, 85% (95 of 116) of the colleges used in the sample reported an increase in smoking. These data supported a study by Sax (1997) that found that the annual survey of college freshmen, which have been administered for thirty consecutive years at colleges and universities nationwide, reported an increase in cigarette smoking. Research by Wechsler et al. (1998) discovered the increase in college smoking began with a rise in high school smoking in the early 1990s.

Moskal (1999) examined other factors that may contribute to college students' attitudes toward smoking. His research, which was conducted in the Florida university system, found that married student's smoke more and are less apt to try to quit smoking than unmarried students. Furthermore, he found that more white students than minority students were likely to try smoking. In other research, conducted by Jones, Hard, and Levinson (1992), higher levels of smoking were seen in students with high stress levels and in students who reside outside of residence halls.

The perceptions toward smoking students have provided insight into the relationship between smoking attitudes and smoking behaviors. Hines et al. (1998) discovered that students who smoked only occasionally reported that "smoking made them feel more daring and more adventurous" and did not report feeling socially persecuted.

Research by Hines et al. (1998) found that non-smoking students associated smoking with being less attractive, less feminine or masculine, and less refined. Also, both smokers and non-smokers preferred dating non-smokers to smokers and found non-smokers more attractive than smokers.

Although previous research indicates college students are aware of some of the consequences of smoking, Giacopassi and Vandiver (1999) found that some students seriously underestimate the rates of death associated with tobacco use. However, Hines (1996) found that non-smoking college students believed that second hand smoke could result in serious diseases.

Method

Instrument:

The instrument consisted of one page with 14 demographic items on one side and 19 statements on the other side--all dealing with smoking. The statements were rated using a three point, Likert-type scale with the options "agree," "uncertain," or "disagree."