Smoking status and mental health problems in a sample of vocational students in Shanghai city

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between smoking behavior and mental health problems in a sample of vocational students in Shanghai city.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in five vocational schools with smoking questionnaire and Achenbach Youth Self-Report(YSR).ResultsCompared with the smoking rate of general students(14.61%),students with some mental problems smoked more cigaretts.The smoking rate was 55.77%,49.18%, 47.99%,45.98%,and 45.98% for the students with somatic complaints,undisciplined behavior,anxiety/depressive disorder,aggressive behavior,and externalizing behaviors,respectively.The mental risk factors for vocational students smoking in the latest month were anxiety/depressive disorder(odds ratioOR=1.98,95% confidence interval95% CI:1.23-3.19),and undisciplined bebavior(OR=1.59,95% CI:1.01-2.53).Vocational students with undisciplined behavior,anxi-ety/depressive disorder,aggressive behavior,withdrawal,and somatic complaints were more likely to smoke and smoked more cigarettes per day.ConclusionMental health is an important issue and needs to be considered in adolescence tobacco control intervention.