2022 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 39-50
Objectives: This study aimed to understand students’ actual smoking status, explain the effect of one’s perception of pros and cons on smoking behavior, and use this information to consider supportive measures for smoking prevention among the younger generation.
Methods: We administered a questionnaire survey on smoking behavior and the perceptions of pros and cons of smoking among university, junior college, and vocational college students in five prefectures in 2016. The analysis involved 483 male students with no smoking history and 30 male students who were smokers, for a total of 513 participants.
Results: Findings showed that the total score for pros was significantly higher in the smoking group than in the nonsmoking group both for the under-20 and over-20 age groups (under 20 years old: p < .001, r = .24; over 20 years old: p < .001, r = .48), suggesting a higher awareness among the smoking group of the benefits associated with smoking. Meanwhile, the total score for cons was significantly higher in the nonsmoking group than in the smoking group among participants aged 20 and older (p = .030, r = .17), indicating that nonsmokers are more aware of the costs associated with smoking. The causal model showed that age group (under 20 years old, over 20 years old), pros total score, and cons total score independently correlated with smoking behavior.
Conclusion: Overall, the results suggest that male students’ perception of the pros and cons of smoking affects their smoking behavior.
