title: Effects of cigarette smoking across three generations and of perceptions of the smoking-cancer relationship on the cigarette smoking status of Turkish university students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This descriptive and cross-sectional study aimed to investigate effects of cigarette smoking across three generations and perceptions of the smoking-cancer relationship on the cigarette smoking status of Turkish university students.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample comprised of 434 university students studying in different departments of a university. Data were collected using a socio-demographic data collection form and the Decisional Balance Scaleqand evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test, CHAID and multiple regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average age of the students participating in the study is 19.6+.5.0, some 11.3% of the students reporting that they smoked cigarettes. No statistically significant relationship was ascertained between the cigarette smoking statuses of the students based on the cigarette smoking status of their grandparents (p=0.144). but there was a link to that of their parents (p=0.002). The difference between the cigarette smoking ratios of the students based on their perceptions of smoking-cancer relationship was statistically significant (p<0.001). Believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer decreased likelihood of cigarette smoking 3.7 fold. Cigarette smoking by grandparents, and believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer, and cigarette smoking by parents explained 8.3% of the cigarette smoking status of the students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While cigarette smoking by grandparents only indirectly influences cigarette smoking by the students, believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer, and cigarette smoking by parents are influential variables in determining cigarette smoking by Turkish students.
authors: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Istanbul, Turkey E-mail : murat.bektas@deu.edu.tr.
authors: Candan
authors: C
authors: Ozturk
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Bektas
authors: Ozlem
authors: O
authors: Mert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents; D010465:Perception; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students; D014421:Turkey; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult