2nd Year Undergraduate Essay
Introduction
Research surrounding social smoking has mainly focused on teenagers at high school age, and college students in America; yet university students in Britain seem to have been overlooked despite their unique social position (financial freedom for the first time in an atmosphere that encourages drinking and other social activities, but yet involves the stress of deadlines and familial expectations.) Therefore, this study aimed to investigate what influences social smoking among university students (particularly first year undergraduates) and what they perceive influences them. Previous research has found that smoking reduces anxiety (Fleming & Lombardo, 1987) and helps individuals to deal with stress (Niaura, Shadel, Britt, & Abrams, 2002). Stress and anxiety fundamentally occur when under pressure, and so is something many university students will experience- in America, up to 70% of college students have been found to be ‘social smokers’, perhaps due to such stressors (Waters, Harris, Hall, Nazir, & Waitandt, 2010.) Anxiety has been found to increase the urge to smoke (Henry, Jamner, & Whalen, 2012) and so may contribute to such a high percentage of college students smoking. Peer influence also has a dramatic impact on adolescents, and so must have some application to university students (Melby, Conger, Conger, & Lorenz, 1993 and Kelly et al., 2010) Thus, I based my interview questions around these factors to try and understand social smoking among university students better.
Method
Using the technique of semi-structured interviewing allowed me to stay on course to explore the factors that were prominent in my background research, but did not restrict me- in that interesting responses could be explored further and other factors could be explored. In a simple way, interviewing and thematic analysis allowed me to be ‘flexible’ in my approach to such a broad topic (Clark & Braun, 2017) by allowing me to explore all themes simultaneously and then work that into a bigger picture. We discussed various topics surrounding social smoking such as the effect of friends, financial consequences, family expectations and health implications. The interview took place in a private room at the University of Huddersfield’s library, and a mobile device was used for voice recording in order to make the interview seem as natural as possible. Everything ran very smoothly and there were no unforeseen circumstances.
Thematic analysis worked very well with my small sample size and the broadness of my research aims- as I was looking at all aspects of life that can influence social smoking, we needed to use a form of analysis that allowed me to see themes and patterns straight away. Therefore, thematic analysis not only allowed me to organise and describe my data but also allowed me to interpret meaning very quickly and closely to what the participants actually said which is a very significant strength. I started my analysis by following Clarke & Braun’s (2006) method, by looking for patterns of meaning while conducting the interview. While the interview went on, I took notes of reoccurring themes and issues that seemed to be repeated a lot- the most obvious and repeated being that of social pressure. Clarke & Braun (2006) state that phase one of analysis is all about familiarising yourself with the data; which involves repeated reading and identification of patterns within what the participant is saying. Then moving onto phase two, I began to produce my initial codes by going line by line through my transcript and trying to think of words or phrases that described what my participant was talking about; some of my initial codes for example were “availability”, “coping mechanism” and “binge drinking”. The final few phases occurred in quick succession, as my themes were rather obvious and were repeated several times throughout the interview. It was apparent that all my overarching themes were linked, as the topic of conversation frequently overlapped and the participant ended up repeating themselves a lot- this might have been an issue in that my questions were too similar, but nevertheless the themes were obvious and very strong.
My interviewee (who will remain anonymous) was an undergraduate university student who openly admitted to being a casual social smoker, and thus seemed a perfect participant for this study.
Analysis
I found there to be four main overarching themes after I finished my analysis- stress, expectancy, negative impacts and social issues. Stress included themes about university, deadlines, coping and a sense of relief. Expectancy was an umbrella term for themes of conformity, normality, wanting to fit in and expectations from family (who were unaware of the participants smoking habit) and friends. The overarching theme of negative impacts involved themes of finance and health- things that were reasons for maintaining a low level of infrequent consumption of cigarettes, rather than reasons to smoke more (but still influenced the participants smoking, even if it was a positive influence that restricted consumption.) Finally, the biggest overarching theme of social issues included themes of drinking, independence, friends once again and the idea of having a “good time”. These themes were incredibly interlinked, probably due to the link between friends and alcohol, and the stress of university in general.
Diagram A: A diagram to illustrate the interconnectivity of the themes I found through thematic analysis of my interview transcript.
I have decided to focus on the theme of social issues, as it seemed to be the most prominent theme throughout the interview and the most interconnected to every other issue. The social issues raised focuses on the link between smoking and drinking, peer pressure while on a night out and the expectancy to have a “good time” when at a party. Interestingly, an issue I had never considered came up when discussing the link between smoking and drinking with the participant- they mentioned that “I feel like it’s part of erm fitting into this society, especially with growing older and…. developing into an adult.” This suggests that once legally available, the participant may have felt a need to try cigarettes, or that they are missing out on something if they didn’t try it. “It’s all part of the university life and being eighteen” was a further comment made by the participant, which once again indicated a link between drinking and smoking, and the expectancy to try new things when you’re legally able to do so and when they become available to you. “You haveto go out and experience these things”- critically, the word “have” strongly implying an urge or a need to experience ‘adult’ behaviour. This begins to hint at what influences social smoking for this individual- in this case, societal expectations and pressure seem to be critical.
Discussion
My analysis concurs with the majority of research surrounding social smoking amongst the student population as there is overlap in various areas. Firstly, the notion that smoking reduces anxiety (Fleming & Lombardo, 1987) and helps to manage stress (Niaura, Shadel, Britt, & Abrams, 2002) appeared clearly in the theme of stress- the participant even stating that “you want a bit of relief… it takes the edge off.” However, Henry, Jamner, & Whalen (2012), found that despite anxious students having an increased urgeto smoke, they did not actually smoke more and thus is in direct contrast to what my analysis has found. Although, this difference may have arisen from the age difference between the two samples- as university students would legally be able to buy cigarettes whereas the teenage participants in the Henry, Jamner, & Whalen (2012) study would not have cigarettes readily available and thus perhaps would genuinely smoke more if they were able to access them.
Furthermore, Kelly et al., (2010) found that a key variable in the initiation of smoking in teens and adolescents was peer and parental use- which was also shown in my analysis, as the participants’ boyfriends smokes and so did their family (despite the fact they did not know about the participant’s habit) and as such may have influenced their social smoking habit.
An issue with my data is that my research aims were too wide- the results I found were rather general and nothing that I did not expect. If I had focused on one thing from the start that influenced social smoking, then perhaps I would have reaped a more focused and rich data set with new findings rather than general findings that have been found hundreds of times before. Moreover, my data did address the research questions and did support the back ground research. My interview technique could also have been improved in my preparedness- I had questions ready for any curveball answers the participants gave but I didn’t have many prompts to explore answers that were very general and reminiscent of what I had previously researched. Ironically, I was not prepared enough for participants to give answers that were straightforward and as such was unable to ask questions that would obtain new information that had not been found before.
Overall, my analysis was clear and stayed very close to the participant’s words- which was definitely a strength as it meant my analysis was evidence-based. However, there may have been issues with reflexivity; as a social smoker myself, there is a risk I may have projected my own answers when analysing my data. Nevertheless, I feel by sticking very close to the participant’s response and analysing line by line what they said I do not think my background could have affected my interpretation.
References
Clarke, V. & Braun, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. . Qualitative Research in Psychology,3(2), 77-101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Clarke, V. & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic Analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology,12(3), 297-298. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613.
Fleming, S.E. & Lombardo, T.W. (1987). The Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Phobic Anxiety. Addictive Behaviour,12(1), 195-198.
Henry, S., Jamner, L., & Whalen, C. (2012). I (should) Need a Cigarette: Adolescent Social Anxiety and Cigarette Smoking. Annals of Behavioral Medicine,43(1), 383-393. doi: 10.1007/s12160-011-9340-7.
Kelly, A., O’Flaherty, M., Connor, J., Homel, R., Toumbourou, J., Patton, G., & Williams, J. (2010). The influence of parents, siblings and peers on pre- and early-teen smoking: A multilevel model. Drugs and Alcohol Review,4(1), 381-387. doi: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00231.x.
Melby, J., Conger, R., Conger, K., & Lorenz, F. (1993). Effects of parental behaviour on tobacco use by young male adolescents. Journal of Marriage and the Family.55(1), 439-454.
Niaura, R., Shadel, W.G., Britt, D.M., & Abrams, D.B. (2002). Response to social stress, urge to smoke, and smoking cessation. Addictive Behaviours,27(2), 241-250.
Waters, K., Harris, K., Hall, S., Nazir, N., & Waitandt, A. (2010). Characteristics of Social Smoking Among College Students. Journal of American College Health,55(3), 133-139. doi: 10.3200/JACH.55.3.133-139.
Appendix A:
Social Smoking Interview Transcript
Conducted: 08/11/16
I: Interviewer
P: Participant
I: So, just before we start could I check your name and age?
P: My name is OAS and I am 18.
I: And do you still give your consent to answer a few questions about social smoking?
P: Yep.
I: Thanks- and if at any point you want to withdraw just say, or feel uncomfortable just let me know and we can stop the interview.
P: No worries
I: So first of all (.) do you smoke?
P: I do socially but I usually only do that when I go out (.) so, I do actually smoke
I: Alright okay… so can you tell me a bit more about that?
P: I smoke about (.) 10 a week depending on if I go on nights out, erm, on nights out I’ll usually go out on a weekend- maybe the Friday and Saturday [mhmm] and depending on how many I have that night I will buy more.[mhmm] And usually I might smoke a bit more than that depending on if my mates have them and I’ve ran out of them [yeah]. So it would be when in a social situation I smoke more, if not then I do smoke about 10 a week- if I’m on my own.
I: When, when did this start?
P: It started probably when I started University because I’d be going out more [mhmm] considering that I have just turned 18 and erm (.) I’d be doing it like every time I go out, so , you know when you turn 18 you’ve got to go out all the time, so when you see everyone else smoke it’s like a little erm, like a little social, gathering outside the club to smoke with people
I: When you say that you’ve got to go out all the time when you turn 18, what do you mean?
P: You have to like, you haveto go out and experience these things [mhmm] so when you’re experiencing (.) when you’re experiencing erm, all these different like clubs and that (I don’t know) you have to erm (mumbling.)
I: No that’s okay, so you feel smoking is part of that experience?
P: Yeah definitely
I: So what experience do you think it gives you?
P: It gives you like, an experience of starting to develop new relationships with friends especially when you’re going out and erm drinking and like if you’re out with other people that smoke then you feel like you’ve got to fit in
I: How do you feel like you needed to fit in?
P: I feel like it’s part of erm fitting into this society especially with growing older and getting to that point where you’re developing into an adult. [mhmm] Like a kind of connection- it’s part of growing up. (.) I think it’s a bit cliché to say that but it is like a part of experiencing new things and getting out there. It’s all part of the university life and being 18
I: So you said you do it with your friends, could you tell me more about that?
P: Erm well I have about 5 out of 10 friends who I go out with clubbing who smoke, so that’s like 50 % who smoke who influence whether I like it or not erm so, when they smoke and you feel a little bit left out obviously it makes you want to smoke [mhmm] especially when you’re in that little environment and everything’s all (.) exciting and that
I: You used the word influenced there… what do you believe influences you to smoke?
P: I believe my family as well as going out with friends [mhmm] along with stressfrom University because all them together just makes you…. want to do it, not that you need to, but a sorta relief from all of it
I: So we’ll talk about your friends first, and then come back to uni if that’s alright [yeah] so how do they influence you?
P: Mainly if you get offered a cig, and then you get offered more and then you’ll want to do more yourself – it turns into that but erm since then…. that as well as the stress from university, it kinda influences it form the erm what do you call it… addiction side, so it could actually develop into an addiction. But for now I think I’m just a social smoker
I: So, you would say you are aware [Yeah I’m definitely aware] Yeah so you mentioned about university and educational stress, how do you think smoking helps alleviate stress?
P: Well because you’ve got a lot of work and a lot of time keeps and just stress in general, then you want a bit of relief and…I know it sounds a bit funny but it helps you deal with a hard day- it takes the edge off, it makes you chill out [yeah]
I: How do people react to your smoking habit? Like do they support it or?
P: Well, my boyfriend smokes the same kinda amount as me- so he doesn’t support it but he’s not one to talk! But my erm… family don’t know about it- so I feel like it is just literally my friends and my boyfriend who supportas you would say,
I: I don’t mean support as in fuel it necessarily, but yeah just don’t object to it either [Yeah mhmmm] But your family don’t know about it – is there a reason you’ve kept it secret?
P: I think it’s because, because my family smoke they don’t want me to smoke- I’m kinda the innocent one out of my family so I don’t think they know a lot about me haha
I: What do you think has stopped you becoming a heavier smoker?
P: I think the fact that I’ve seen how it can affect you if you smoke a lot a week, erm, and to be honest it’s not really enjoyable it’s just a thing you do to get involved and a thing you do to relieve stress- sometimes you might think you’re enjoying it but that’s the addiction. I don’t want to be addicted because of the affects it can have on your body
I: So you’d say you were very aware of the affects? [Yeah, yeah definitely] How do you think you’ve maintained that low level of consumption then?
P: Erm, money- because you know being at university isn’t exactly the best financial situation. But erm, money as well as other people saying oh you don’t want to get into that habit given how much it costs and how much it hurts you [mhmm]
I: You’ve mentioned a lot about stress and friends but how does University life and culture affect your smoking habit?
P: Just the habit of going to clubs and wanting to have a good time when you have any spare time. I think if I wasn’t at uni my consumption would be much lower so it really does influence me
I: Obviously there’s a lot of different things that make up student life but you’ve mentioned drinking- do you think there’s a link between the two?
P: Drinking is definitely a social thing you do, and I think its involved a lot with student life. I mean look at freshers week, HudCrawl was actively encouraged! But yeah I’d say I’d say stress and going out are the main points for me. It might be different for others.
I: How do you think independence has influenced your smoking habit?
P: Well, being 18 makes cigarettes more available I suppose. Some people might see smoking as a sign of growing up but I don’t really see it like that. For me I just think it’s how regularly I got out and smoke, now it’s just something I do every now and then that’s normal. It’s also a massive coping mechanism for my stress in all honesty now.
I: With your student loan as well, how do you think that affects your habit?
P: Well, I work part time so I wouldn’t say I fund my smoking with my loan. But it kinda helps out a little bit, especially with people who don’t work I suppose.
I: With uni as well you’ll have made new friends, do you think they influence your habit?
P: No, no, none of them really smoke. I think it’s more my friends back home from college.
I: You mentioned your boyfriend as well, if he stopped smoking do you reckon you’d stop?
P:… no, no definitely not, I think I’m in a routine now, it feels normal now.
I: That’s brilliant thank you so much for that, is there anything else you’d like to add about how social smoking affects your life before we finish?
P: All I would say is that my main points are stress, going out and….. don’t get addicted to it! It is an expensive habit.
I: Thankyou! If at any point you would like to withdraw your interview please don’t hesitate to contact me on my details provided.
P: No worries!