A Study of Environmental Factors and Self-efficacy in Female College Student Smokers

Kim, Kyoung Seon; Lee, Ji Won

Abstract

For the past 10 years, the number of male smokers has dwindled. On the other hand, the number of female smokers has increased abruptly. Cigarette smoking is more hazardous to a woman than to a man because it can affect her health and her fetus during pregnancy. Many studies show that cigarette smoking is one of the most important risk factors determining the mortality and the morbidity of various kinds of diseases such as lung cancer and pharyngeal cancer. But, it is also known to one of the risk factors we can handle and prevent easily. The subjects of this study consisted of 263 female nursing students in Seoul and Chonbuk Province. Using questionnaires, we were collected data from December 1 to December 10, 1998. The questionnaire included 24 questions related to environmental factors and 14 questions related with self-efficacy. The statistical analysis was done with SPSS ver. 8.0(SPSS Inc. U.S.). The results of this study are as follows. 1) Cigarette smoking in women was influenced by her family or friends. That is to say, the higher number of her friends or family members who smoked cigarettes, the more likely a woman was to become a smoker. Economic status and knowledge level about the risks of cigarette smoking were also related to women smoking. So, women with lower levels of economic status and less knowledge about the risks of cigarette smoking were the more likely to become smokers. 2) Woman with higher levels of self-efficacy were less likely to become smokers. 3) The factors influencing a woman's smoking were whether her friends smoked, whether her mother smoked and her self-efficacy in that order. Environmental factors, self-efficacy were found to be important factors influencing smoking in women. It is suggested a quit-smoking program for women college students, be based on consideration of these environmental factors and self-efficacy.