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HSH 715/915 ASSESSMENT TASK TWO

Tobacco Control

Research Topic

The role of social interactions on the smoking behaviours and attitudes of young men

The process used to arrive at the research topic for this project first involved an observation of a

social/health issue: tobacco smoking is often taken up at a young age. This observation was then

magnified and narrowed by examining related research and data, introducing a qualitative theory to our

analysis, and developing a research objective (which will be discussed later in this report). A funnel

diagram was used to guide and help conceptualise the process of narrowing our research topic.

Image 1. Funnel Diagram

While examining related empirical papers and data related to our general observation, a

number of findings were considered to be important when shaping our research topic. Some of these

findings include: a positive Pearson correlation between the number of cigarettes young people smoke
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and their number of friends (Vasilopoulos et al. 2015); the latest estimates for gendered smoking

differences suggest young men smoke on a average more than young woman (Greenhalgh et al. 2021);

men who score higher for the personality trait consciousness are a standard deviation less likely to

smoke cigarettes than their counterparts (Chioun et al. 2020); and the importance of peer group

influences on the smoking behaviour of adolescents when interpersonal closeness is high (Wood et al.

2020).

In order to identify our research topic—guided by the early phase of the research design cycle

template (Hennink et al. 2020) —we used these findings and the theory of symbolic interactionism as

our criteria to focus our broad observation into a topic that, if addressed correctly, will produce

meaningful data on the aforementioned phenomenon.

Approach

The theoretical lenses with which qualitative researchers analyse data are diverse, which is why,

for the purposes of clarity and rigour, it is necessary to adopt a theoretical paradigm (or approach) in

which to nest our theory and address our research topic (Bradbury-Jones et al. 2014). Critical qualitative

inquiry is useful when attempting to analyse the differing experiences people gather from situations and

encounters, and how language reveals the meaning and perceptions of reality produced by their

experience (Braun and Clarke 2021). Critical qualitative inquiry is interested in interpreting the social

lives and behavioral judgements of research participants (Denzin 2015), making it the appropriate

approach for our topic, theory, and method of data collection: in-depth interviews.

Theory

Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level sociological theory which, at its core, understands

society to be a result of individual interactions (Carter and Fuller 2016). Language plays a key role in this
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theory: the world symbolic is predominately taken to mean language or, concomitantly, communication

occurring during individual interactions (Flick at al. 2004). Symbolic interactionism was selected for this

project for several reasons. It is concerned with the interpretation of individuals’ subjective meaning; it

holds that the interactions which form these meanings are influenced by social context; and it argues

that individuals' behaviours, attitudes, and actions are generated by this meaning (Carter and Fuller

2016). To understand the role of social interactions on the smoking behaviours and attitudes of young

men, we will apply these aspects of symbolic interactionism to our study design; namely: that the

subjective meaning of individuals are formed by their social context and symbolic interactions with

other individuals, and that this subjective meaning influences the behaviours and attitudes of these

individuals. Our study design is, therefore, shaped to gather data in the following areas: social context

(friendship groups, character traits, etc.), social interactions (encounters, language, and communication

within and outside of friendship groups in relation to tobacco smoking), and the social

behaviours/attitudes/perceptions of individuals in relation to smoking tobacco.

Aims, Objectives, and Research Questions

The aim of this project is to discover how social interactions influence the smoking behaviours

and attitudes of young men.

The three objectives of this project are:

1. To explore the range of social interactions conducive to tobacco smoking

2. To explore the relationship between tobacco-smoking language and social groups

3. To document the relationship (if any) between conscientiousness and social influence in relation

to tobacco smoking

And, in order to further narrow the focus of our over-arching research topic, three sub-

questions were also created to guide the study.

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1. To what extent does conscientiousness play a role in the social interactions of young men?

2. To what extent does language around smoking change within and outside of close friendship

groups?

3. What type of social interaction is more likely to encourage the tobacco smoking of young men?

These particular sub-questions and objectives were informed by studies and data found during

preliminary research and by the theory of symbolic interactionism. Along with further narrowing the

research topic, sub-questions and clear objectives are used to aid the direction of data collection and

the depth of analysis (Agee 2009).

Data collection method

In-depth interviews can be particularly useful for collecting the type of qualitative data in which

our project is interested. The key three types involve: the participant’s narrative concerning their

experience, the subjectivity of this experience, and the context which influences the former two

(Hennink et al. 2020). During the process of developing our interview schedule, these types of data were

considered and applied to its design. Narrative, subjectivity, and context also intersect well with our

theory and objectives. Topics/questions designed to extract data related to conscientiousness, for

example, cohere with the type of data related to the subjectivity and social context of a participant’s

experience, which the in-depth interview method compliments (Hennink et al. 2020). Other

topics/questions included in our interview design which accomplish the same intersection between

theory, objectives, and method involve eliciting: narratives of past experience of social interaction and

the behaviour it may have caused, language which may be used depending on hypothetical social

interactions, and the participant’s perception of social interactions on behaviour. A weakness of this

method is the iterative and cyclical approach it requires which, while achieving data saturation at the
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end of the process, is time-consuming and reliant upon many subsequent interviews to be effective

(Hennink et al. 2020).

The interview schedule (Hennink et al. 2020) is structured first with an introduction for the

purposes of exposition and clarity. Then with some warm-up questions which build rapport but also

extract some characteristic data necessary for our project’s demographics (e.g.: smoking status, gender,

age). The schedule then moves into the first topic of our thematic portion which involves slightly more

open questions regarding the participant’s personality: still building rapport while extracting relevant

information, transitioning into our key topics designed to promote narrative responses and understand

the participant's perspective on the differences in socially-interactive causes of smoking in our

population with the use of photo elicitation. The interview schedule ends with a closing question and

gratitude for taking part in the study.

Sampling and Recruitment

Purposive sampling involves selecting a subset of the population with particular knowledge and

experience relevant to the qualitative research one is undertaking (Hennink et al. 2020). There are a

range of purposive sampling strategies that could be used to recruit participants for this study. Some

include: strategies that focus on similarity such as snowball sampling (recruiting participants with

characteristics relevant to our subset who know similar participants); strategies that focus on variation

such as stratified purposeful sampling (emphasizing contrasts instead of similarities); and strategies with

a non-specific focus such as convenience sampling (recruiting participants who are easily accessible to

the researcher) (Palinkas et al. 2015). Some strengths of purposive sampling are its ability to target

information-rich participants with which to make broader generalizations, increasing the probability for

a deeper understanding of our topic; and its flexible nature which allows the study to progress freely

without being impeded by more rigid, qualitative paradigms (Hennink et al. 2020). A weakness of this
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method of sampling and recruitment is the uncertainty of accurately selecting an information-rich

population for the study, which is why continual sampling and re-sampling is required (Palinkas et al.

2015).
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References

Agee J (2009) Developing qualitative research questions: a reflective process, International Journal of

Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(4), pp.431-447.

Bradbury-Jones C, Taylor J, Herber O (2014) How theory is used and articulated in qualitative research:

Development of a new typology, Social Science & Medicine, 120(1) 135-141,

doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.014.

Braun V and Clarke V (2021) Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide, Sage, London, UK.

Carter M and Fuller C (2016) Symbolic Interactionism, California State University, Northridge, United

States.

Chioun L, Manjing G and Carol R (2020) Conscientiousness and Smoking: Do Cultural Context and Gender

Matter? Frontiers in Psychology, 11, California, United States.

Denzin, N. (2015) What is critical qualitative inquiry? Taylor & Francis Group, SAGE.

Flick U, von Kardoff E and Steinke I (2004) A Companion to Qualitative Research, SAGE.

Greenhalgh EM, Bayly M and Scollo M (2021) Prevalence of smoking—young adults, Tobacco in

Australia: Facts and issues, Cancer Council Victoria.

Hennink M, Hutter I, and Bailey A (2020) Qualitative Research Method, Sage, London, UK.

Palinkas LA, Horwitz SM, Green CA, Wisdom JP, Duan N and Hoagwood K (2015) Purposeful Sampling for

Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method Implementation Research, Administration and

policy in mental health, 42(5), pp.533–544.

Vasilopoulos A, Gourgoulianis K, Hatzoglou C and Roupa Z (2015) Social Influence and Smoking Habit in

Adolescent, 9(2), Health Science Journal, Cyprus, Greece.

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Wood L, Greenhalgh EM, Vittiglia A and Hanley-Jones S (2020) The smoking behaviour of peers, and peer

attitudes and norms, Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues, Cancer Council Victoria.
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Appendices

Appendix 1.1 Conceptual Framework Diagram

Appendix 1.2 Recruitment Flyer

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Appendix 1.3 Interview Schedule

The role of social interactions on the smoking behaviours and attitudes of young men

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study is to understand how social interactions may influence the smoking behaviours and

attitudes of young men.

First, I’d like to return to the consent form for a moment just to make sure you understand that this is

completely voluntary and you’re happy to take part in this project?

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Great. Now we can start the interview. So, to start I’d like to ask you a couple general questions about

yourself.

And be sure to let me know at any time if you want to take a break or ask me a question or not answer a

question—it’s all up to you.

Oh, and one last thing: there are no right or wrong answers to any of the questions I ask. This is not a

test. I'm interested in your ideas, thoughts, and opinions.

Any questions before we officially start?

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

Demographics

Okay. So, how old are you?

Would you classify your gender as male, female, or other?

Are you now or have you ever been a regular tobacco smoker?

Are you from here originally or have you moved around?

THEMATIC QUESTIONS

Social Context

Okay great. Can we talk a little bit about your social life? Do think of yourself as having a very large

friendship group?

Okay, and how many of those members would you consider close friends?

Do any of your friends smoke tobacco? If so, how many, how regularly?

Now I'm going to ask you some simple personality questions, are you okay with that?
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Great. Are you the kind of person who is good at making plans and sticking to them?

Do you consider yourself more of a messy or neat person?

Are you more likely to adhere to social norms or break them? (Prompt: examples include: saying please

and thank you, returning things you’ve borrowed, call someone Ms., Mr., Mrs., Sir, etc.)

And can you think of a friend in your group who would tick more of these boxes than you?

Social Interactions: Behaviour, Attitude, Language

Okay, great. Now let’s move on.

How many times (if any) would you guess you’ve smoked a cigarette and how many of these times were

with friends?

Can you tell me about the last time you had a cigarette with friends (if ever)? (Prompt: where were you

and what were you doing?)

If you were to say something negative about tobacco smokers, do you think you’d be more likely to say

it around your family or your friends, or is there no difference? (Prompt: “negative” can mean: deriding

the habit, mocking smokers, expressing a level of incredulity or disgust)

Is there any other cigarette-related interaction you can remember between you and another person

that you would like to share?

Social interactions: Behaviour and Perception

Okay, great. We’re at the last part now.

Here are some statistics breaking down tobacco smoking by age and gender.
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Citation: (Greenhalgh et al. 2021)

Do you think young men are more likely to smoke after an interaction with their friend, a stranger, or a

member of their family? If so, why?

Do you think this explanation applies predominately to young men as opposed to young women? Why

or why not?

Do you think the explanation applies predominately to young people as opposed to older people? Why

or why not?

And, this is the last question: is there anything else you would like to say or add that we haven’t covered

in this interview?
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Thank you for taking part in the interview. Please let me know if you would like a transcript or report.

And if you know anyone else who would like to take part in this study, please forward the information

on to them.

Appendix 1.4 Plain Language Statement and Consent Form

TO: Male students ages 18 – 25 who are not regular smokers

Plain Language Statement

Date: 29/04/22

Full Project Title: The role of social interactions on the smoking behaviours and attitudes of

young men

Student Researcher: Chris Sevastidis

Purpose of Research

The purpose of this research is to understand how social interactions influence the smoking behaviours

and attitudes of young men. Our objectives include exploring: the range of social interactions conducive

to tobacco smoking, the relationship between tobacco-smoking language and social groups, and the

relationship (if any) between conscientiousness and social influence in relation to tobacco smoking. We

also have a set of research questions we will attempt to answer with this study. They are: To what

extent does conscientiousness play a role in the social interactions of young men? To what extent does

language around smoking change within and outside of close friendship groups? And what type of social

interaction is more likely to encourage the tobacco smoking of young men?

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Participant Involvement

You will participant in a 15-minute in-depth interview over Zoom in which you will be asked to share

your thoughts and experiences on this topic. The interview will be audio-recorded, and you will

contribute to a better understanding of this health issue in relation to our target population, which we

will benefit the health of the community.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Interview data will be transcribed and stored securely on Deakin computers. Only researchers will have

access to this information. Any identifying characteristics will be withheld from publication. We will

convert participant names into pseudonyms to protect your confidentiality.

Signing and consenting to be a participant in this study involves using the data you supply in our results,

publications, and future studies. To participate in this study, you must sign and consent to this form and

these conditions.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary.

Contact Details

If you consent to participate in this study, please email Chris Sevastidis at

[email protected] and we will reply to you shortly.

Consent Form

Date:

Full Project Title:

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Reference Number:

I have read and I understand the attached Plain Language Statement.

I freely agree to participate in this project according to the conditions in the Plain Language

Statement.

I have been given a copy of the Plain Language Statement and Consent Form to keep.

The researcher has agreed not to reveal my identity and personal details, including where

information about this project is published, or presented in any public form.

I agree to this being audio recorded

Participant’s Name (printed) ……………………………………………………………………

Signature ……………………………………………………… Date …………………………