Association of Selected Psychological Factors to Smoking Behaviour among US College Students

Abstract

Drinking, smoking, and health risk behaviours are significant problems for U.S adolescents. However, little is known about the association and magnitude among alcohol, tobacco, or cousing and health risk behaviours. Furthermore, substance abuse among university students within the United States has been identified as a major public health problem. This study explored college students’ smoking behaviour and identifies the effect of different psychological factors. Randomly selected students from two different universities completed the perceived stress scale, self esteem scale, anxiety scale and a smoking questionnaire. Non-parametric analyses suggested that higher stress and anxiety level increased the likelihood of being a smoker. This study's findings have important implications for health education and promotion among college populations.

Keywords: Self Esteem, Stress, Psychological Factors, Smoking, Behaviour,College Students.