SMOKING BEHAVIOUR RELATED TO HEALTH STATUS, SELF ESTEEM, LIFE SATISFACTION AND PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT IN AN ADOLESCENT SAMPLE
Abstract:
The study aim to analyze the differences in cigarette smoking behaviour related with the
perceived social support from family and school. The instrumentation consists of the questionnaire
based on the HBSC survey containing healthy lifestyle and social context’s items, Rosenberg Self-Esteem
Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) and Life Satisfaction Scale (Cantril, 1965). Participants are 447 students from
Romanian high schools (11-12 graders), aged between 17-18 years (mean age 17.4 years). Results show
that frequent smokers spend a significantly higher amount of time with friends, but they perceive
relevantly inferior level of social support from family, a lower health status, and life satisfaction.
Frequently, smoking participants report an unfavourable school attitude, lack of satisfaction with their
physical constitution and lower perceived level of support from their teachers. The study concludes for
the importance of increasing social support when targeting the improvement of health behaviour.
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