Research
Are social norms associated with smoking in French university students? A survey report on smoking correlates
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* Corresponding author: Lionel Riou França leonel@worldonline.fr
- † Equal contributors
1 INSERM U669, Maison de Solenn 97, bvd de Port-Royal, 75679, Paris, Cedex 14, France
2 Université Paris 6, Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France
3 Faculté de Médecine Pierre et Marie Curie, UPRES EA2397, 91, 105 boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
4 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Service de pneumologie et réanimation, GH Pitié Salpêtrière Division Montyon, 75651, Paris, cedex 13, France
5 Université Paris-Sud 11 and Université Paris Descartes 5, UMR-S0669, Maison de Solenn, 97, boulevard de Port-Royal, 75679 Paris cedex 14, France
6 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Hôpital Paul Brousse, département de santé publique 12, avenue Paul-Vaillant-Couturier, 94804, Paris, Villejuif Cedex, France
7 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Hôpital Paul Brousse, unité fonctionnelle d'addictologie, 12, avenue Paul-Vaillant-Couturier, 94804, Paris, Villejuif Cedex, France
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 2009, 4:4 doi:10.1186/1747-597X-4-4
Published: 2 April 2009Abstract
Background
Knowledge of the correlates of smoking is a first step to successful prevention interventions. The social norms theory hypothesises that students' smoking behaviour is linked to their perception of norms for use of tobacco. This study was designed to test the theory that smoking is associated with perceived norms, controlling for other correlates of smoking.
Methods
In a pencil-and-paper questionnaire, 721 second-year students in sociology, medicine, foreign language or nursing studies estimated the number of cigarettes usually smoked in a month. 31 additional covariates were included as potential predictors of tobacco use. Multiple imputation was used to deal with missing values among covariates. The strength of the association of each variable with tobacco use was quantified by the inclusion frequencies of the variable in 1000 bootstrap sample backward selections. Being a smoker and the number of cigarettes smoked by smokers were modelled separately.
Results
We retain 8 variables to predict the risk of smoking and 6 to predict the quantities smoked by smokers. The risk of being a smoker is increased by cannabis use, binge drinking, being unsupportive of smoke-free universities, perceived friends' approval of regular smoking, positive perceptions about tobacco, a high perceived prevalence of smoking among friends, reporting not being disturbed by people smoking in the university, and being female. The quantity of cigarettes smoked by smokers is greater for smokers reporting never being disturbed by smoke in the university, unsupportive of smoke-free universities, perceiving that their friends approve of regular smoking, having more negative beliefs about the tobacco industry, being sociology students and being among the older students.
Conclusion
Other substance use, injunctive norms (friends' approval) and descriptive norms (friends' smoking prevalence) are associated with tobacco use.
University-based prevention campaigns should take multiple substance use into account and focus on the norms most likely to have an impact on student smoking.