Relationship between Anxiety, Stress, and Psychological Dependence on Smoking in University Students: A Correlational Study
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: tobacco use and associated dependence are significant public health issues among young adults. Anxiety and stress can coexist with tobacco use in university students, although literature regarding their specific relationship with psychological dependence remains limited.
Objective: to analyze the relationship between anxiety, stress, and psychological dependence on tobacco among university students, and to compare these variables based on sex and academic field.
Method: a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted with 200 students from a city in northwestern Mexico, selected via non-probability quota sampling. The Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Global Perceived Stress Scale, and the Glover-Nilsson Test were administered. Descriptive statistics, Student’s t-tests, Pearson correlation, and effect sizes were used.
Results: women reported higher anxiety than men (t = -2.40,p = .017, d = .33), with a small effect size. Engineering students exhibited higher psychological dependence on tobacco than students in non-engineering programs (t = 2.90, p = .004, d = .41), with a small-to-moderate effect. Psychological dependence on tobacco was positively associated with anxiety (r = .219, p < .01; 95% CI [.083, .347]) and stress (r = .145, p < .05; 95% CI [.006, .278]); both associations were of low magnitude. No significant association was observed between anxiety and stress (r = .094, p > .05).
Discussion and conclusions: psychological dependence showed small associations with anxiety and stress, supporting a multifactorial interpretation of the phenomenon. The findings highlight the need to integrate emotional regulation and stress management components into university-based tobacco prevention and cessation strategies.
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