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Table 1 The independent variables used in the model

From: Are social norms associated with smoking in French university students? A survey report on smoking correlates

Variable

Description

Student characteristics

 

Gender

Male or female.

Age

Age ranged from 18 to 64 years.

Cannabis use

No use, use ≤ 1/week, use > 1/week in the previous year.

Alcohol use

No use, use < 10 days, use ≥ 10 days in the previous month.

Binge drinking

No episode, < 4 times, ≥ 4 times in the previous month.

Partner status

Being alone or having a partner.

Family structure

Parents living together or not.

Baccalauréat grade

Secondary school final exam grade, as a measure of social achievement.

Number of friends

0–4, 5–7, 8–10 or ≥ 11.

Number of friends in the class

0–1, 2–3, 4–5 or ≥ 6.

Self esteem

Rosenberg's self esteem scale.

BMI

Body mass index.

University environment

 

Academic discipline

Sociology, medicine, English as a foreign language or nursing studies.

Smoking prevalence in the class

 

Cannabis use prevalence

Estimated from the students' answers.

Drinking prevalence

 

Binge drinking prevalence

 

Smoke disturbance in university

"Are you disturbed by smoking in your university?": not at all, rarely, sometimes or often.

Smoke-free university support

"What is your position about your university being smoke-free?": completely positive, mostly positive, indifferent, somewhat against or completely against it.

Knowledge of university's tobacco policy

"Does your campus have a policy (e.g. consumption ban, ...) against tobacco?": no, yes or don't know.

Social norms

 

Previous exposure to substance use questionnaires

Yes or no.

Perceived exposure to tobacco prevention campaigns

0 times, 1–3 times, 4–5 times, 6–30 times in the previous month.

Perceived prevalence of tobacco use among university peers

"Among 10 students, how many use tobacco?"

Perceived approval of tobacco experimentation by friends

"What would your close friends think if you tried to smoke tobacco once or twice?": wouldn't disapprove, would disapprove or would strongly disapprove.

Perceived approval of tobacco occasional use by friends

"What would your close friends think if you smoked tobacco occasionally?": wouldn't disapprove, would disapprove or would strongly disapprove.

Perceived approval of tobacco regular use by friends

"What would your close friends think if you smoked tobacco regularly?": wouldn't disapprove, would disapprove or would strongly disapprove.

Perceived prevalence of tobacco use among friends

"Among your friends, how many smoke tobacco?": none, less than one third, about half or more than two thirds.

Measures related to tobacco

 

Tobacco perception score

"Do you think the following qualifiers are relevant to tobacco?" ("harmful", "a trap", "a pleasure", "healthy", "a scourge", "friendly and sociable")

6-item Likert scale from 0="Not at all" to 4="Entirely".

Attitudes towards the tobacco industry

Derived from a tobacco industry scale. 6-item Likert scale. Example: "Cigarette companies should have the right to sell".

Beliefs about the tobacco industry

Derived from a tobacco industry scale. 7-item Likert scale. Example: "Cigarette companies lie".

Tobacco prevention campaigns perception score

6-item Likert scale about tobacco prevention campaigns: "There are too many", "They are convincing", "I don't feel concerned", "They do not give the right reasons to change behaviour", "They catch attention", "They have more to do with political issues than with public health issues".