Gender differences of smoking perception among adolescents in Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract

Majority of smokers who begin smoking as adolescents are at risk for developing smoking patterns. Misperception has contributed that smokers underestimate the risks related with smoking. The aim of this study was to identify the gender differences in adolescents’ perception about smokers based on four factors. A total of 863 respondents consist of 302 male (age 21.2 ± 0.56 year) and 562 female (age 20.9 ± 0.66 year) were participated in this study. They were asked to complete a Short-Form Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (S-SCQ) in this study. The result showed female adolescence reported significantly higher discontentment rate (negative perception) for smoking compared to male. There are all four factors were affected on smoking perception relative gender included negative consequence (z=-6.321, p<0.0001), positive reinforcement (z=-8.110, p<0.0001), negative reinforcement (z=-7.584, p<0.0001) and appetite-weight control factor (z=-6.142, p<0.0001). Female tend to have negative perception on smoking behavior compared to male that encourage the higher number of male smoker than female adolescents. In conclusion, misconceptions about the consequence and reinforcement regarding smoking are widespread among adolescent under this study. Hence, significant public anti-smoking is vital to redress these misperceptions.