Social connectedness and smoking behaviors among Asian American college students: An electronic diary study

Asian American college students are at increased risk for cigarette smoking and its health consequences. Cigarette smoking often serves as a social lubricant among Asian American smokers.

Electronic diaries were used to examine the roles of peer presence and social connectedness in relation to cigarette use patterns among Asian American college students.

Multilevel modeling results showed that participants smoked more cigarettes when smoking with peers than when smoking alone. Social connectedness attenuated the within-person associations between smoking with peers and cigarettes smoked per occasion. Those with lower social connectedness smoked more cigarettes when smoking with peers than when smoking alone.

Social settings and social connectedness are important in explaining situational variations in the number of cigarettes consumed by Asian American college smokers.