Presentation Title
Clouded Cause: Inclusive Research into the Impacts of Sociocultural Environment and Stress on College Students’ Smoking Patterns
Abstract
To inform the creation of broadly accessible and effective anti-smoking programs on an increasingly diverse campus, this research employs an inclusive approach to studying smoking/vaping techniques and behaviors at the University of Vermont. Targeted interviews were designed to catalog the proliferation of methods and substances that students smoke/vape on campus and the linguistic diversity used in their nomenclature about these practices. This project investigates various student perceptions of what influences their smoking behaviors, such as stress, campus cultural norms, social environment, and perception of risk, and their evaluation and awareness of the university’s current smoking initiatives. Psychological stress, particularly in relation to the pandemic and academics, was often noted as a factor likely to increase the desire to smoke, most notably nicotine or tobacco products. Students were less likely to increase their marijuana consumption in relation to stress. Social environment was highly connected to the availability of products, the initiation of smoking, and the ability to harm reduce or cease the use of nicotine, tobacco, and marijuana products.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Deborah Blom
Secondary Mentor Name
Jeanne Shea
Graduate Student Mentors
Michael Hill Jr.
Faculty/Staff Collaborators
Michael Hill Jr. (Graduate Student Mentor, Center of Health and Wellbeing)
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Anthropology
Primary Research Category
Social Sciences
Secondary Research Category
Arts & Humanities
Clouded Cause: Inclusive Research into the Impacts of Sociocultural Environment and Stress on College Students’ Smoking Patterns
To inform the creation of broadly accessible and effective anti-smoking programs on an increasingly diverse campus, this research employs an inclusive approach to studying smoking/vaping techniques and behaviors at the University of Vermont. Targeted interviews were designed to catalog the proliferation of methods and substances that students smoke/vape on campus and the linguistic diversity used in their nomenclature about these practices. This project investigates various student perceptions of what influences their smoking behaviors, such as stress, campus cultural norms, social environment, and perception of risk, and their evaluation and awareness of the university’s current smoking initiatives. Psychological stress, particularly in relation to the pandemic and academics, was often noted as a factor likely to increase the desire to smoke, most notably nicotine or tobacco products. Students were less likely to increase their marijuana consumption in relation to stress. Social environment was highly connected to the availability of products, the initiation of smoking, and the ability to harm reduce or cease the use of nicotine, tobacco, and marijuana products.