The prevention of tobacco smoking and development of skills of healthy life-style in students of professional educational institutions

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze issues of prevention of smoking among college students and to reveal influence of social environment including influence of healthy lifestyle to development addiction. The study was based on value social model of health. The study covered student survey (n = 495, proportional selection by gender, age, year of study) and standardized interview with youth professionals (n = 21) to analyze in the youth the main motives for smoking, attitudes to healthy lifestyle and preventive social work methods that are implemented in colleges. The comparative analysis of data was carried out in subgroups of smoking and non-smoking students and experts. The results of study demonstrated the unformed negative attitudes to smoking. Among 25% of smoking students and 39% of non-smoking students smoking itself is considered as mean of communication and integration in youth community. Among 45.6% of respondents the exposure to and conformal behavior as reasons for starting smoking were declared. The analysis of results of the study concerning assessing attitude to smoking from the perspective of fashion and social recognition occurred to be unexpected: the number of non-smoking students who assume smoking is fashionable is 17 times higher than the number of smokers who share these beliefs. The comparison of the data permitted to establish possible causes of such a distribution of answers: in everyday life, smokers are faced with various legislative restrictions and social censure, while their non-smoking peers focus on social communicative and recreational effects of this habit. There are particular contradictions in the interpretation by students and youth professionals of causes of smoking. This testifies certain unawareness of professionals about age-related psychological characteristics and emotional conditions of students.