Social Smoking and Mental Health Among Chinese Male College Students.

PURPOSE

China has a high prevalence of smoking, but the characteristics of social smoking in Chinese college students have not been investigated. We examined the pattern of social smoking and explored the association between social smoking and personal cessation efforts and mental health factors among Chinese male college students.

DESIGN

Study design was a cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

P. R. China was the setting of the study.

SUBJECTS

Participants were a random sample of 1327 male college students.

MEASURES

All participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that examined their smoking behaviors and a group of specific mental health factors (loneliness, self-harm, suicide, depression, and anxiety).

ANALYSIS

Analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, χ analysis, and multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of a total of 207 current smokers, 102 (49.3%) were identified as social smokers. Compared with nonsmokers, social smokers had increased risks for depression (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.65). Among daily smokers, social smokers were less likely to have an intention to quit smoking than nonsocial smokers (odds ratio, .08; 95% confidence interval, .01-.57).

CONCLUSION

This study reveals unique psychologic characteristics related to social smoking. College students are a particular group of interest because unhealthy behaviors initiated during adolescence may continue through adulthood. Our findings provide evidence for future tobacco control intervention among this population.