1. Peer effects on
smoking amongst NUS
students
NM3220 | Sem1 AY 12/13 | Group 5
Li Ting . Shiqi . Sihui . Nicholas . Aishah
2. Intro
Methodology
Findings How does peer influence
Discussion
Limitation affect smoking behavior
amongst NUS students?
Theoretical framework:
Social Cognitive Theory
• Passive vs. active peer influence
3. Intro
Focus Group Interviews
– Qualitative, formative research
Methodology
Findings – Five 1 hour focus groups
Discussion – Semi-structured
Limitation
Snowball sampling
– 23 participants
– 5 groups of 4-5 participants
Coding and Thematic
Analyses
– 3 coders in total
4. Intro
Passive peer-related effects
Methodology 1. No active peer pressure
Findings • Old enough to choose
Discussion • Encourage peers who are trying to
Limitation quit
2. Camaraderie of being a
marginalized group
• Shared identity as deviants
• Shared experience of ‘’seeing the light”
3. A form of social captial
• Social networking activity
• “Smoker’s Creed”
5. Intro
Passive peer-related effects
Methodology 4. Stigma of smoking
Findings • Contradiction between being a
SMOKER and being an ELITE
Discussion
• Need to “tread cautiously” in certain
Limitation contexts
• Gender bias
5. Smoking behavior changes with
peers
• Smoke more with friends
• Difficult to quit when surrounded by
smoking friends
6. Health-related issues
Intro
Methodology 1. Exaggerated health implications
Findings “It’s like I’ll probably die from
Discussion heart disease or like from
Limitation jaywalking before I get killed
by cigarettes”
2. “Success” stories
3. Physiological benefits
• Energized and keep awake
• Weight loss
• Ayurveda: Coffee + smoking gets rid of
water retention
7. Smoking perceived as a
Intro
Methodology
personal choice
Findings 1. Therapeutic effects of smoking
Discussion • Stress relief
Limitation
2. Self-efficacy
• Self-control over smoking behavior
“You won’t get addicted to
cigarettes unless you really want
to get addicted to cigarettes.”
8. Intro Modeling behavior
Methodology
Findings 1. Passive peer effects as a
Discussion dominant theme: in-group
Limitation identification
2. Disassociation with out-group
• ‘The Other’: Judgmental vs. Open-
minded smokers
3. Identification with >1 in-group
• Conflicting systems of norms of
separate in-groups
• Smoker vs. elite
9. Intro
Methodology
Findings Positionality of NUS
Discussion
Limitation
smoking population
• “Elite smokers”
– “Seen the light”
– previously held “JC attitude”
– Different from other smokers in wider
society
11. Intro
Methodology Rationalizing of smoking
Findings behavior
Discussion • Personal choice based on rational
Limitation weighing of benefits and costs
– Linked to self-efficacy (discipline to quit)
– Using positive physiological effects of
smoking to counter negative health
implications
• NUS smokers = high educational
status, perceived ability to process
and analyze information
– Be it sound or delusional
12. Intro
Methodology
Findings
Discussion
Limitation
Recommendation:
- Understand that NUS students are
positioned to perceive themselves as
rationalizing individuals
- Future communication messages
should be logical and persuasive
- And crafted by taking into account
possible counterarguments
13. Intro
Methodology Sampling
Findings • Did not foresee gender
Discussion
differences / differences
Limitations
between faculties
– Need for more purposive
≠ sampling
• Better representation of the
studied population
• Homogeneity within each
group
