Relationship between Young People's Self Esteem and Smoking - Assignment Example

Relationship between Young People's Self Esteem and Smoking: A brief literature review Rationale behind the research Tobacco usage especially cigarette smoking has been considered as one of the major reasons for various health problems such lung cancer, coronary artery disease, chronic lung infection among adolescents. Government around the world have taken serious steps to curb smoking by introducing a global smoking ban act that prohibits shop keepers to sell tobacco products to youngsters below the age of 18. As per various research conducted on adolescents found that smoking is related to psychological changes such as risk-taking behaviour, peer pressure or sometimes contrary aspects such as lack of confidence or low self-esteem. Some research suggests that low self-esteem and high stress has significantly contributed to the rising number of adolescent smokers. However, some researchers believe that self-esteem and smoking in adolescent are unrelated to each other. D. G. Byrne and J. Mazanov in their article, “Self-esteem, stress and cigarette smoking in adolescents,” provide analysis and the co-relation between self-esteem and smoking by studying the behavioural pattern of the adolescents (Byrne 2001). Some of the studies conducted have found that children and young people take up smoking at a very early age, with as much as 82 per cent smokers picking up the habit in their teen years, which eventually, adds to the total number of adult smokers in the later years. Majority of the programmes initiated as a part of health education and health promotion are basically focused on adolescent tobacco consumption globally. Some of the social influences that induce cigarette smoking amongst youngsters include communal pressure, parental behaviour and substance abuse among the peers. Bettina F. Piko found that community plays an important part in luring boys to take up smoking, whereas, for girls it was more of peer pressure and parental attitude (Piko 2006). Often times it has been found that psychological variables such as lack of self- esteem, is assumed to be a major determinant for youth to consume alcohol, smoke cigarettes and take drugs. This paper aims to find relevant co-relation between self-esteem and smoking. It would also try to explore some of the complex variables such as self-identity and low confidence level amongst teenagers to be the major cause for taking up the habit of smoking. Another aspect of this paper is to analyse the co-relation between consumption of cigarette and substance abuse. It may be considered that frequent use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs might be associated with lack of confidence and depleting self-esteem. Research conducted to analyse the consumption pattern of cigarette and other narcotic elements in the adolescents revealed that teenagers who were smokers, frequently drank alcohol but did not indulge too much in marijuana. This research was conducted using Timeline followback (TLFB) methodology and assessed daily use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana in adolescents (McKee 2005). Search strategy In this paper, I aim to find the information from library books and journals, electronic databases, Internet sites etc. My primary data source would be free Web search and secondary data sources. I would be finding data and survey results from various journals that have been published on adolescents and smoking habits. I would also delve upon some of the current trends that have been instrumental in curbing smoking among youngsters around the world, such as tobacco advertising ban and ban on selling tobacco products to under-age. Further, in order to support my hypothesis, I would also conduct a small market research by preparing questionnaire and taking focused group to understand the behavioural pattern and the reasons for youth taking up smoking. Adolescent smoking: current trends It has also been found that one of the reasons for adolescents taking up smoking is to improve their self image and self esteem within their peer group. The idea behind taking up smoking is generally attributed to have a “cool” image and become sexually attractive in order to mingle with the opposite sex. This imagery has been propagated by tobacco companies through their marketing strategy that has always promoted cigarette smoking as an act of heroism. Smoking is also been portrayed as an act of bravery and has been depicted in a lot of movies where the protagonist consumes tobacco or smokes in order to look attractive, handsome and heroic. Going by the trend as shown in the media, teenagers often pick up the habit of smoking on the pretext that it would boost their self-confidence and would also depict them as a heroic figure in public and amongst their peer group. In order to curb this, government around the world have imposed ban on cigarette smoking scenes in movies, cigarette advertisement ban, as well as ban on surrogate tobacco advertising. Teenagers also take up smoking to deal with situations that need them to act quickly and wisely; failing to do so often lead them to find a diverse way to deal with the problem and often they find solace in smoking cigarettes. Some of the other common attributes that lead them to take up smoking are frustration, anxiety, and boredom. Other significant factor that contributes to heavy usage of tobacco among adolescents is depression. It has been found that teenagers under depression due to various circumstances in life often resort to either taking up smoking or alcohol. Arguments and disagreements amongst the parents and unrest in their personal life also lead to the increased usage of tobacco amongst the youth. All these factors combine to either lowering the self esteem or results in teenagers suffering from psychological problems, which might eventually push them towards substance abuse, alcoholism or smoking. It has been believed that adolescents’ behaviour is largely influenced by individual self esteem, which is also linked with better physical health and success in academics. The conflicting view about the correlation between smoking and self esteem has been debated widely, wherein, it has been confirmed that although self esteem does not directly influence the adolescent to take up smoking but it has indirect effects. As per the study conducted by Zekeriya Aktürk, found that evaluating self esteem on a logical regression model revealed that self esteem does not have any influence on adolescents picking up the habit of smoking (Aktürkb 2002). Glendinning and Inglis opined that self-esteem is not related to the usage of narcotics or cigarette in adolescents. They suggested that there isn’t any sufficient evidence to prove to prove the co-relation between smoking and self-esteem during teenage. In order to prove their hypothesis, they studied a group of teenagers in various circumstances to understand the usage of cigarettes and the cost for their heavy smoking habit. They studied their behaviour in the framework of peer context, cultural factors and the meaning of smoking for different individuals. Their study revealed that although there was no direct relationship between self esteem and smoking, the indirect co-relation was evident in terms of equating oneself with another peer and some differentiating factors that led them to pick up the habit of smoking (Glendinning 2002). On the other hand, researchers have also found that there is no co-relation between self-esteem and smoking amongst the adolescents. The study revealed that just as high self-esteem does not contribute to a higher performance in education or employment; similarly, low self-esteem can not be attributed for adolescents taking up smoking habits (Baumeister 2003). Works cited Byrne, D. G., J. Mazanov, “Self-esteem, stress and cigarette smoking in adolescents”, Stress and Health, Volume 17 Issue 2, Pages 105 – 110, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Piko, Bettina F., “Adolescent smoking and drinking: The role of communal mastery and other social influences”, 2006, Addictive Behaviors, Elsevier B.V. McKee, Sherry A. et al., “Daily patterns of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in adolescent smokers and nonsmokers,” 2005, Addictive Behaviors, Elsevier B.V. Glendinning, Anthony, “Self-esteem and smoking in youth—muddying the waters?” 13 August 2002, Elsevier Science Ltd. Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. “Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles?” 2003, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Pp. 1-44. Aktürkb, Z., et al., “Smoking among adolescents: relation to school success, socioeconomic status, nutrition, and self-esteem”, Swiss Med Wkly 2002, Pp. 449–454. Read More