A Qualitative Study of Smoker Identity Among College Student Smokers
- PMID: 26584272
- DOI: 10.3109/10826084.2015.1018549
A Qualitative Study of Smoker Identity Among College Student Smokers
Abstract
Background: This research was motivated by findings that college students who smoke cigarettes often self-categorize as nonsmokers, that is, they reject the social identity of "smoker."
Objectives: The goal of the present study was to shed light on college students' smoker identities beyond the smoker/nonsmoker dichotomy.
Methods: Focus groups were conducted to investigate how college students categorize their own smoking patterns and to identify what behaviors and attitudes are associated with these different categories of smoker identities. Forty-one students from a western university participated in this study in November 2011.
Results: The focus group results indicated that there were five distinct smoker identities on campus. Light and regular smokers were the daily smoker identities present, while stress, social, and drunk smokers were the occasional smoker identities. Moreover, each of these smoker identities was defined by a unique pattern of smoking behavior, attitudes, and motives.
Conclusions/importance: These findings support the notion that there are different types of smokers, both daily and occasional, in the college population. We suggest that researchers, healthcare providers, and prevention/intervention programs may all benefit from distinguishing between these different types of smokers.
Keywords: alcohol use; college students; focus groups; identity; tobacco use.
Similar articles
-
Smoking, but not smokers: identity among college students who smoke cigarettes.Nicotine Tob Res. 2007 Aug;9(8):845-52. doi: 10.1080/14622200701484987. Nicotine Tob Res. 2007. PMID: 17654297
-
Characteristics associated with self-identification as a regular smoker and desire to quit among college students who smoke cigarettes.Nicotine Tob Res. 2008 Jan;10(1):69-76. doi: 10.1080/14622200701704202. Nicotine Tob Res. 2008. PMID: 18188747
-
Smoking identities and behavior: evidence of discrepancies, issues for measurement and intervention.West J Nurs Res. 2010 Jun;32(4):434-46. doi: 10.1177/0193945909354904. West J Nurs Res. 2010. PMID: 20685903
-
Smoker identity and its potential role in young adults' smoking behavior: A meta-ethnography.Health Psychol. 2015 Oct;34(10):992-1003. doi: 10.1037/hea0000191. Epub 2015 Jan 26. Health Psychol. 2015. PMID: 25622078 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The roles of identity formation and moral identity in college student mental health, health-risk behaviors, and psychological well-being.J Clin Psychol. 2013 Apr;69(4):364-82. doi: 10.1002/jclp.21913. Epub 2012 Oct 8. J Clin Psychol. 2013. PMID: 23044630 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Tobacco use, smoking identities and pathways into and out of smoking among young adults: a meta-ethnography.Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2022 Mar 28;17(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s13011-022-00451-9. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2022. PMID: 35346260 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Smoker identity development among adolescents who smoke.Psychol Addict Behav. 2016 Jun;30(4):475-83. doi: 10.1037/adb0000171. Epub 2016 May 2. Psychol Addict Behav. 2016. PMID: 27136374 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical