Campus Social Capital as a Determinant of Smoking Behaviors in College Students

The influence of campus-level factors on smoking behaviors is under-examined in college populations. Social capital theory incorporates multi-level factors to understand individuals' community engagement. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between social capital and smoking behaviors among college students at the individual and campus-level. Data from 85,475 college students at 144 institutions from the National College Health Assessment were included in a hierarchical analysis, controlling for individual demographics, psychosocial, and co-risk factors. Smoking was measured by the number of days in the past 30 days that students used cigarettes. At the individual-level, perceptions of cigarette use, living off campus (Beta=.125, p<.000), grade point average (Beta=-.0195, p<.000), trust (Beta=-.007, p<.029), depression (Beta=.493, p<.000), race (black, Hispanic and other race were significant at p<.05), and past 30 day drug use (Beta=1.29, p<.000) were significant. At the campus-level, prevalence of past 30 day cigarette (Beta=.013, p<.000) and other drug use (Beta=-.001, p<.000), binge drinking (Beta=-.104, p<.000), and Southern location (Beta=.049, p<.002) were significant. At the individual-level, measures of social capital: social support (living off campus), shared norms (perceptions of cigarette use), and trust were related to cigarette use. At the campus-level shared norms (campus prevalence of past 30 day cigarette, drug use, and binge drinking) were significant. This study is innovative because it highlights the importance of incorporating campus-level norms for healthy behaviors in smoking interventions and enhances of our understanding of the juxtaposition of individual and campus social capital relate to smoking behaviors in college students.