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A Study to Determine the Levels of Hopelessness in 18 Year Old Students who Do Or Do Not Smoke Cigarettes

出版	University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2000
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=KNP1twEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋In the past three decades the perception of cigarette smoking by our society has changed dramatically. What was once perceived as a personal statement of manliness, changed to a symbol of gender equality promoted through advertising, and now is well documented as a serious health hazard to both cigarette smokers and those near them. Even with an intense effort by our government through formal education about the health concerns involved, the attempts to educate our youth on the risks associated with cigarette smoking have failed. The number of young smokers has grown virtually every year in the past decade and are at an alarmingly high rate. It is difficult to understand that the disregard for personal health and well being represented by cigarette smoking could simply be based upon a fad, trend, or an attempt to defy authority by our youth today. Other factors must be a part of the decision to continue with this high-risk behavior. Teenagers of every generation seek their own identity. Often times their search for identity will include a questioning of the established rules of society. As the rules of society are questioned, teens realize that we, as a society, do not have all the answers concerning our future. The world problems that will be handed to these teens become obvious and overwhelming in their magnitude. Many teens feel a sense of despair. This despair is based upon natural pessimism and dim hopes for the future. A real sense of hopelessness among the teens can result from this situation. These experiences and feelings of despair also have an affect on an individual's future goals in life. Is it possible that teen smoking is a reflection of a larger sense of hopelessness for one's future? Statistics have shown that the number of teens that smoke has increased year after year and now remains at more than one fourth of the young people in the United States. A concern is that sense of hopelessness could be a factor in the decision that teens make to become cigarette smokers. As a society, we may need to direct our efforts toward finding effective treatments and perhaps a cure for the sense of hopelessness that is present among teens today.