Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Smoking behavior and symptoms of depression and anxiety among young adult backpackers

Results from a short longitudinal study

Bibliographic Data

ID21392072
AuthorsOsnat C Melamed (0000-0002-9663-2226, Department of Family and Community Medicine University of Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Toronto ON Canada, corresponding author), Sophie D Walsh (0000-0002-4775-1624, Department of Criminology Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan Israel), Shmuel Shulman (0000-0001-7853-8247, Department of Psychology Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan Israel)
Year2021
Volume62
Issue2
Pages211-216
Publication date2021-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.12699
PMID33270916
OpenAlexW3109654565
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited30

Levels of smoking and smoking initiation have been found to increase during the transition to adulthood. Symptoms of depression and anxiety may both precede or follow smoking behavior, yet there is equivocal evidence regarding the direction of this relationship. The aim of the current study was to examine the direction of this relationship in a group of young adult backpackers who traveled to social environments which are permissive of smoking. The current study involved a quasi‐experimental design examining 199 (52% men, mean age 24.27, SD = 1.05 years at time 1) young adults, before, during and following a backpacking experience of at least six months. Regression analyses was used to examine the association between smoking and symptoms of depression and anxiety over time. Relative to smoking levels before the journey, a significant transient increase in smoking was found during the journey. The increase in smoking during the journey predicted increases in both depressive and anxiety symptoms following the journey. The reverse direction models were not significant. Our study suggests that social contexts which are permissive of smoking, such as backpacking, increase young adult smoking behavior. Mood symptoms did not contribute to the observed increase in smoking behavior but, inversely, increases in smoking contributed to heightened mood symptoms. Additional longitudinal studies are needed to explore the role that smoking behavior plays in young adults’ mental health

Anxiety · Depression (economics) · Developmental psychology · Longitudinal study · Mental health · Mood · Permissive · Psychiatry · Young adult · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Medicine · Psychology · Smoking Behavior and Cessation

  • An explainable analysis of depression status and influencing factors among nursing students

    Open Access•Yingying Li, Bolun Sun et al.•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2025

  • Analysis of the health status and its influencing factors of the low-income populations in Wuxi, China

    Open Access•Shiming Li, Ying Jiang et al.•Frontiers in Public Health•2024

  • Cigarette smoking and depression

    Open Access•Joseph M Boden, David M Fergusson et al.•The British Journal of Psychiatry•2010

  • Prevalence and stability of mental disorders among young adults

    Open Access•Kristin Gustavson, Ann Kristin Knudsen et al.•BMC Psychiatry•2018

  • The Association of Cigarette Smoking With Depression and Anxiety

    Open Access•Meg Fluharty, Amy E Taylor et al.•Nicotine & Tobacco Research•2017

  • The Brief Symptom Inventory

    Open Access•Leonard R DeRogatis, Nick Melisaratos•Psychological Medicine•1983

  • The Extended Journey and Transition to Adulthood

    Shmuel Shulman, Sidney J Blatt et al.•Journal of Youth Studies•2006

  • Mental health trajectories from childhood to young adulthood affect the educational and employment status of young adults

    Karin Veldman, Sijmen A Reijneveld et al.•Journal of Epidemiology and…•2015

  • Smoking, Drinking, and Drug Use in Young Adulthood

    Jacob Goldstein, Jerald G Bachman et al.•Contemporary Sociology A Journal…•2003

  • Associations Between Lifestyle and Depressed Mood

    Coen H Van Gool, G I J M Kempen et al.•American Journal of Public Health•2007

  • Risk creation in traveling

    Open Access•T Elsrud•Annals of Tourism Research•2001

  • Gender differences in trajectories of depressive symptomatology and substance use during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood

    Open Access•B L Needham•Social Science & Medicine•2007

Unique citing works2
Citations per year1
Citation span2024 - 2025 (2)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 2
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae