The Influence of Stress on Smoking and Drinking of High School Students

스트레스가 고등학생의 흡연.음주에 미치는 영향

This research attempted to investigate the real state of adolescent smoking and drinking, and to study how stress influences on smoking and drinking of high school students. This data was collected from 837 first and second grade students in a vocational high school in Go-yang city, Gyeonggi province. Data analysis consisted of frequency, percentage, Chi-square, T-test, step-wise regression analysis, using SPSSWIN. The results of analysis were as follows: First, 51.7% of the students have never smoked, while 48.3% have experienced smoking. Most students started smoking in the second year of the middle school, though 17.6% of the smokers already started in the elementary school. The strongest motive of initial smoking was curiosity, next the inducement of friends, and 10.9% of them smoked to get rid of stress. Their favorite place for smoking was in the order of the entertainment centers, schools, and private academies. They personally purchased cigarettes mostly at the store. Most of them smoked less than 5 cigarettes a day, but 3.7% smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day, usually with friends rather than alone. Second, the ratio of drinking was relatively high 78.1%, and their initial drinking experience was most frequent at the third year of the middle school. The initial motive of drinking was mostly curiosity and the inducement of friends, but 10.7% of them started drinking to reduce stress and anxiety. The places for buying alcohol and drinking were bars or restaurants. The ratio of habitual drinking was 45.1%, and the ratio of irregular drinking was 53.3%. 1.8% of the drinking students enjoyed drinking everyday. The amount of drinking varied from half a bottle to two bottles of Soju, and the drinking problem was serious to see that 11% of them drank more than two bottles at a time. Because 84.4% drank in groups with friends, a thorough and systematic supervision and education of the peer group drinking is essential. Third, as for the relationship between personal matters and smoking, it was found that there was a positive relation between smoking and sex, but there was no correlation between smoking and school years. Adolescent smoking was also related with scholastic achievement, the number of friends, and the existence of parents. Fourth, as for the relationship between personal matters and drinking, it was found that there was no correlation between drinking and sex, but there was a positive relation between drinking and school years. Fifth, the average index of stress was students themselves(2.58), school life(2.53), family life(2.19), friends(2.00), and the total index of stress was 2.33. Sixth, there appeared a marginal negative correlation between stress and 'drinking and smoking' in Pearson coefficient of correlation r to see the influence of stress on smoking and drinking. The difference of the average index of stress according to smoking and drinking bears meaningful difference for all students, smokers and non-smokers, drinkers and abstainers in students themselves, school life, family life, friends, and total stress. Smoking has an effect on family life most, school life next, and drinking has an effect on school life most, family life next, with the explanation power of 11% and 9% respectively, in a regression analysis to analyze the factors influencing on smoking and drinking among the factors of stress.