207
Views
4
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Exaggeration of perceived smoking norms among college students: Does smoking status matter?

&
Pages 291-299 | Received 27 Jan 2011, Accepted 15 Sep 2011, Published online: 19 Oct 2011
 

Abstract

Introduction: Research suggests that over half of the college students who have smoked within the past 30 days deny being smokers (“deniers”). Furthermore, college students overestimate injunctive and descriptive norms of peer drug use. The purposes of this study were to (a) estimate the prevalence of deniers and students who identify as smokers within a college sample, (b) determine whether students overestimate descriptive and injunctive norms related to cigarette use by peers, and (c) determine whether the degree of exaggeration differs according to smoking status.

Method: Participants included 1904 students (18–24 years) from a Northeastern private university who were primarily female (59%), Caucasian (70%), and first-year students (59%). Students completed an online questionnaire that asked for reports of current smoking behavior and attitudes, as well as estimates of other students’ behaviors and attitudes.

Results: Results indicated that students significantly overestimated the percentage of peers who had ever smoked, smoked within the past 30 days, and smoked on 20 or more days within the past month. Additionally, estimates differed by smoking status, as did students’ perceptions of their peers’ attitudes regarding the acceptability of smoking in college.

Discussion: These findings suggest that college students believe their peers smoke more and are more approving of smoking than oneself. Students who denied being a smoker despite current smoking behavior strongly overestimated smoking rates and believed peers were even more accepting of smoking. These exaggerations may result in increased smoking behavior, and future interventions might target normative assumptions while considering one's smoking status.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 416.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.