Correlates of Cigarette Smoking among Male Chinese College Students at a large Southeastern university in of China - A Preliminary Study

The main purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the association between four constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM) (i.e. perceived severity of smoking-related health problems, perceived susceptibility to smoking-health related problems, perceived barriers to non-smoking and perceived benefits of non-smoking) and cigarette smoking among male Chinese college students. Cross-sectional data were originally collected from 521 Chinese college students at one university in Wuhu, People's Republic of China, but only 253 students’ data were used for analysis. Results of t-test showed that there were significant differences in perceived severity (t (249) = -2.16, p =.03), barriers (t (249)= 2.49, p =.01), and benefits (t (246) = -2.51, p =.01) between male smokers and non-smokers. Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis also indicated that perceived barriers (adjusted OR = 1.81, CI = 1.09 3.02) and benefits (adjusted OR = 0.61, CI = 0.41 0.92) toward non-smoking were good correlates (p<.05) of non-smoking behavior. These results suggested that constructs of HBM can be incorporated when examining the predictors of cigarette smoking and developing smoking prevention programs among Chinese college students. However, the constructs should be considered in a more comprehensive prevention model. In addition, gender difference should be taken into consideration when designing and implementing prevention programs to reduce smoking among college students in China.