Explaining the Craving for Cigarette Smoking Based on Adverse Childhood Experiences and Subjective Socioeconomic Status among University Students in Isfahan, Iran

ABSTRACT

Background: Adverse childhood experiences are linked to a wide range of physical, social, sexual, and family dysfunctions. These experiences, such as smoking, may have negative health consequences. Objective: The goal of this study was to explain the desire to smoke in university students in Isfahan, Iran based on adverse childhood events and subjective socioeconomic status. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 450 young adults who were recruited randomly from Isfahan universities in 2020. To collect data, a checklist of adverse childhood events, craving for smoking, and a question about subjective socioeconomic status were used. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Results: According to the findings, 46.5 percent of all university students had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience, and 68.8 percent of all university students had some level of smoking craving. Controlling for demographic variables, respondents with one to five adverse childhood experiences (OR: 1.84; 95 percent of CI: 1.11–3.04) and six or more adverse childhood experiences (OR: 5.37; 95 percent of CI: 2.58–11.71) were more likely to crave smoking than respondents with no adverse childhood experiences. Furthermore, among all students, a higher subjective socioeconomic status reduced the likelihood of smoking by 19%. Conclusions and implications: It can be concluded that university students who have had adversity in their childhood are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors like smoking. Because smoking is recognized as a coping mechanism for stressful events, it is suggested that personal, local, and national strategies aimed at young adults in Iran be developed.

KEYWORDS:

• Adverse childhood experiences
• cigarette smoking
• subjective socioeconomic status
• Iran

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics review

The study received the required ethics approval from the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences Research Ethics Committee, Isfahan Iran, with Ethics Code No. IR.MUI.RESEARCH.REC.1399.383.

Informed consent

Participants signed a written informed consent in which they have been assured that their identities and responses will be anonymous and that participants’ data will be kept confidential as possible

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran with research code No. 298205.