Perceived consequences of cigarette use among college students

The current study was designed to investigate the perceived consequences of cigarette smoking among a sample of college students. Participants (N=206) rated the negative consequences of smoking higher than the positive consequences on both the Decisional Balance Measure and the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire. While scales assessing the perceived positive consequences of cigarette smoking varied as a function of smoking status, the perceived negative consequences of smoking did not vary as a function of smoking status or stage of change. This pattern of findings is inconsistent with previous studies, which have reported that the relationship between the perceived positive and negative consequences of smoking shifts towards a more negative view as smokers become more motivated to change or actually quit smoking. The differential patterns of results across studies highlight the need for continued research on the relationship between the perceived consequences of cigarette use and actual smoking behavior among young adults who smoke but are not necessarily nicotine dependent.