Relationship between Gender, Smoking and Stress - Research Paper Example

Relationship between Gender, Smoking and Stress al Affiliation) The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the stress levels, gender and smoking pattern of the individuals. Data was collected from 30 people all from Bulle in Switzerland and they were selected through random sampling. Abstract There is an increase in stress levels among the students. Likewise, there is an increase n smoking among women with most females picking up the habit. Studies show that that the process of gender equality is directly related to a decline in the trend in regards to sex differences in smoking. Our study is focused on the stress of individuals from the two genders and whether this is related to their smoking patterns. I used quantitative to collect the necessary data for this research. The results show that there was a relationship between the stress of individuals, type of gender and their smoking habits. It was found that although this habit was common among males, females were gradually taking up the habit and would in the future go through the phase that traditional smokers were experiencing. However, there were other factors that were influencing the stress levels and these included the type of occupation, the age and the social norms within the society Introduction Smoking of cigarettes is increasing in both males and females. Initially, it was the preserve of a few but with time more females are getting into the habit and the relative age to start smoking is getting lower. In the 1970s, men were the highest proportion of smokers, but this figure is however narrowly reducing due to increasing uptake by women. The increasing use of cigarettes has resulted in an increase in stress levels among the various users. This study therefore has to try and find a link if there is indeed a relation between the most dominant gender of smokers and the associated stress. The stress in this regard refers to that which is associated with student life such as school projects and examinations (Contrada& Baum, 2011). Several hypotheses were presented in an attempt to try and show the relationship between stress, gender and the smoking pattern of the individuals. One of the most common hypotheses was that although smoking is practiced in nearly all regions in the world there is still some aspect of negativity associated with the habit and smokers are most likely to associate more easily with smokers than with nonsmokers. In general, smoking is a risky practice and was mainly associated with males. In comparison most male smokers started smoking at a younger age, smoke more cigarettes and inhale more deeply (Eysenck, 2004). Their uptake of tobacco products was also not limited to tobacco only but included other products in their products base. It was also clear that they experienced stress and this was based on the gender of the smoker. Aim and Hypothesis The aim of this research was to determine the relation between the gender of the smokers and the stress of the smoker. Three hypotheses were therefore formed to guide us in our research: Where there were more men than women smokers? The stress level between male smokers was higher than that between female smokers? Is there a relationship between gender, smoking and stress? Methods For this research I only applied the quantitative methods for analyzing the impact of the smoking habits on the level of stress of the individual smokers. I used data that was collected from 30 individuals that were selected randomly on the streets of Bulle in Switzerland. The use of the quantitative method is very useful as it helps to obtain data from a large group of people within a short frame of time (Gochman, 2007). We are able to obtain the sexes of the various smokers and their respective ages. Data collection was by random sampling so as to get the 30 respondents to fill the questionnaires. I was careful so as to select an equally proportionate number of male and female respondents. The questionnaires were close ended and the respondents only had to choose a choice from the selected options that were offered in the questionnaire. Basically the questionnaires required the respondents to fill in details in regards to their gender, their smoking habits, their age, their residence and the level of stress that they may be experiencing. The exercise was closely monitored and each participant was to fill the questionnaire as an individual without any help from a third party. They were able to ask for clarification in case they had not understood the questions and this was given to them accordingly. The use of the parameters was essential as it enabled the participants to satisfy the context of the research. The results can therefore be easily translated to find the results. In this way, there is a higher chance that their responses will be able to answer the queries that are raised in the hypotheses and we can decide whether they are right or wrong.The participants are further assured of the confidentiality of the information that has been shared and that it will only be used for this research and not any other publication. Their personal details will be kept safely and if they did not feel secure about the handling of the information they had the option of discontinuing front the exercise. Results According to the data that was collected, the following information could be derived. Age groups Total percentage (100%) Male smokers Female smokers 18-20 8 80% 20% 21-23 10 72% 28% 24-26 6 68% 32% 27-29 4 67% 33% Mo than 30 2 73% 27 This shows that smoking is a habit that is most common among males than females in all the age groups according to the research that was conducted. A pie chart showing the gender of the smokers out of the sampled group According to the findings there were more males engaged in cigarette smoking than females. Discussion& Conclusion Analysis of the responses in our questionnaires revealed that indeed some of the hypotheses were true. The use of the quantitative method focused on getting general data about the stress of individuals and their smoking patterns. It is important to note that the use of the questionnaires was not to test the results but was to show the relationship that existed between the gender of the smokers and the stress they had. I can therefore get a comprehensive picture of the relationship between the two areas. By using questionnaire we are likely to get views for a large sample group faster than if we were using other methods of data collection. It was found that most of the students were stressed and this can be attributed to several factors. These included issues such as exams while on campus and the projects that the students had to carry out. From the results it was revealed that most of the students who were highly stressed were men. Female students had lower stress levels than their male counterparts. Results show that the men who were stressed were smokers and were living on campus. Most of the smokers were aged between 21 and 23 years old although they claimed to have gotten the habit while they were still in their teens. Although only 40% of them were smokers, a large percentage of them, over 80% had at least tried to smoke but eventually gave up as they realized the habit added no value whatsoever to their lives. Stress was common among the male students because a majority did not entirely focus on their course work and left most of their studies unattended to until the end of their academic sessions. This resulted to these students having a high amount of stress than their female counterparts. Female students were found to be more focused in their course work and therefore experienced little stress when it came to their projects and their exams. According to the data collected, most of the male students who were stressed had taken up the habit of smoking with many of them living within the campus. There are various factors that could have led these students to smoke. One of these is that smoking is seen as a masculine behavior and therefore it is more likely to be embraced by males other than females. As a result, males can pick up the habit more easily. Another factor that may have led the stressed students to smoke is the effects of smoking. Cigarettes contain nicotine and this is a known stimulant. When these students smoke cigarettes they experience a certain kind of high that relaxes them and take their minds off the stress that they might be facing. Given that most of these students were staying on campus, they did not always have a ready supply of money to access cigarette sticks and therefore relied on their friends for the cigarettes. This was a major source of worry among this group of individuals. Stress was also found to have an impact on the sleeping patterns of individuals. The sleeping patterns of male smokers could be termed as disjointed. The available data collected was able to show that they slept for fewer hours than their female counterparts. This is because of the fact that smoking as an addiction can be very demanding and the smokers can wake up in the night to fulfill their urges. They could also be under a lot of stress and could not have a full nights sleep, they could therefore wake up and try to smoke before going back to bed (Ogden, 2012). In the course of the research we experienced several problems. First and foremost people were very nervous when asked to give personal information since they did not know where the data could be further applied. We gave them the assurance that this data will not be shared with third parties but there is high probability that the information presented was not a 100% genuine. This will most likely affect the credibility of the research. The location that the research took place can be used to discredit the research (Bayard, 2002). This is because the data is merely a representation of one location; this makes it difficult for the data to be used to generalize the situation in other areas across the country and the world as a whole. Finally, there are very many causes of stress that arise due to our day to day activities. These do not occur based on whether an individual is a male smoker, female smoker or a nom smoker. It can therefore be wrong to conclude that all the stress that is faced by male smokers is due to this habit. There are many people across the world that do not smoke but are also stressed beyond measure. The validity of this research can be improved by adding more details to the questionnaire so as to capture various cigarette related stresses and those that can occur to any individual regardless of their smoking status. This should be clearly indicated so as to clearly distinguish the stresses that are caused by the smoking habit and others. Data can also be conducted by using of both qualitative and quantitative means as this will produce more clear and accurate data than if only one type of method is used to collect and analyze the data. The research should also be carried over a wide area. Several locations can be included in the scope of the research so that the findings that will be presented will not be biased to a specific area. This is due to the fact that a given location can have a higher smoker rate than usual and if this is used to present the final results the data will lack credibility. The implication of this result would be to increase awareness among the stress levels of people and whether it could lead to an increase in the smoking habit, more specifically in male students. Appendix Of all the respondents, not all were considered in tallying the final results: 2.0% were excluded because they seemed to be guessing 0.5% was not included as it was proved the respondent had already filled the form in another part of the city 1% were excluded because were underage. References BAYARD, S. P. (2002). Respiratory health effects of passive smoking: lung cancer and other disorders. Washington, DC, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. CONTRADA, R. J., & BAUM, A. (2011).The handbook of stress science: biology, psychology, and health. New York, NY, Springer Pub. EYSENCK, H. J. (2004). The causes and effects of smoking.MT Smith. GOCHMAN, D. S. (2007).Handbook of health behavior research. New York, Plenum Press. GOCHMAN, D. S. (2008).Health behavior: emerging research perspectives. New York, Plenum Press. HEIMSTRA, N. W., BANCROFT, N. R., & DEKOCK, A. R. (2006).Effects of smoking upon sustained performance in a simulated driving task.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Ogden, J. (2012). Health psychology: A textbook. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Read More