Date of Award

2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

John Stevenson

Abstract

Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) has been linked to adverse health effects in the general public. It is especially harmful to infants, children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised respiratory systems. Homes and workplaces are the predominant locations for SHS exposure. To combat this risk to health, smoking bans in the public sphere (e.g., restaurants, public buildings, and workplaces) are increasingly mandated by the state, but smoking bans in the private sphere ( e.g., households and personal vehicles) often remain a voluntary choice, which can leave individuals near smokers unprotected from the dangers of SHS. To hone strategies for increasing voluntary restrictions, more understanding of factors associated with this choice is essential. In order to investigate predicted relationships among factors thought to be associated with voluntarily enforcing smoking restrictions in homes and cars, a structural regression analysis was conducted. As hypothesized, individual level factors such as having children in the household, being a nonsmoker, having fewer friends who smoke, having fewer household members who smoke, and being supportive of smoking restrictions in the community were related to voluntarily restricting smoking in the household and car. Also in line with hypotheses, environmental factors such as being covered by workplace smoking restrictions, having less SHS exposure in the workplace, and exposure to anti-smoking media messages were related to support for smoking bans in the community. A proposed mediating role for positive attitudes toward smoking restriction policies received limited support.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.