Abstract

Young females are smoking on campuses in increasing rates in the last two decades. This thesis is secondary data analysis of a primary study with data from 472 female respondents, ages 18 to 24, enrolled or registered for classes at Minnesota State University, Mankato in the Spring, Summer and Fall semester of 2011. This sample included current smokers, former smokers, and nonsmokers. This research study will discuss the relationship between the age one starts smoking and any association with participation in unprotected intercourse and the concomitant use of estrogen containing oral contraceptives. Among the respondents a majority started smoking between the ages 14 to 19. Among current and former smokers, there was positive association among females, ages 14 to 15, and participation in unprotected intercourse. Among current and former smokers, there was no association or preference to use estrogen containing oral contraceptives. Using Pearson's chi-square analysis, there was no statistically significant relationship among age one starts smoking and (a) participation in unprotected intercourse and (b) use of estrogen containing oral contraceptives. The percentage of females receiving smoking cessation advice from providers ranged from 26% among current smokers to 29% among former smokers. However, not all young female smokers disclosed their current smoking status to their providers. Future research should capture a more diverse dataset to improve interventions based on prevalence in various ethnic groups.

Advisor

Hans-Peter de Ruiter

Committee Member

Sue Ellen Bell

Date of Degree

2012

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

School of Nursing

College

Allied Health and Nursing

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Download

Share

COinS
 

Rights Statement

In Copyright