Adolescents’ perceptions of the onset of their cigarette smoking behaviour and the factors that maintain their habit

Magister Psychologiae - MPsychTobacco smoking remains the largest preventable behavioural cause of chronic disease and premature death. Many people continue to engage in this behaviour, despite the well-known negative health consequences. The most common form of smoking is cigarette smoking, which is a type of risk-taking behaviour that is becoming increasingly prevalent among adolescents. Cigarette consumption rates are increasing among adolescents in various parts of the world; each year nearly a million adolescents start to smoke. This behaviour, if continued into adulthood, may lead to a range of debilitating diseases of lifestyle. In an effort to contribute to the success of adolescent smoking cessation programmes in South Africa, this study looks at the factors that motivate and support adolescents‘ decision to start and continue with their cigarette smoking behaviour. Utilising a qualitative framework, individual interviews were carried out with six boys and six girls from an English-medium high school within Cape Town. The participants‘ ages ranged from 16-18 years. Through the use of thematic analysis, the results show that adolescents smoking are not determined by knowledge, beliefs and attitudes alone, but by social and environmental influences as well. Risk and protective factors for adolescent smoking was identified on a psychological, physical, social/environmental level cross-cuttingly on the different stages of the smoking cycle. Of importance was the adolescents‘ common misinterpretation of 'smoking out of habit‘ for 'addiction‘. Essentially, this study focused on the importance of adolescent health and how it is affected by factors associated with tobacco use in South Africa. Therefore, a key recommendation of this study would be for these underlying risk and protective factors needs to be integrated to strengthen current smoking cessation programmes

Female homicidal strangulation in urban South Africa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Female strangulation in South Africa occurs in a context of pervasive and often extreme violence perpetrated against women, and therefore represents a major public health, social and human rights concern. South African studies that provide accurate descriptions of the occurrence of strangulation incidents among female homicide victims are limited. The current study describes the extent, distribution and patterns of homicidal strangulation of women in the four largest South African metropolitan centres, Tshwane/Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Ethekwini/Durban.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study is a register-based cross sectional investigation of female homicidal strangulation, as reported in the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System for the four cities, for the period 2001 to 2005. Crude, unadjusted female strangulation rates for age and population group, and proportions of strangulation across specific circumstances of occurrence were compiled for each year and aggregated in some cases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study reports that female homicidal strangulation in urban South Africa ranges from 1.71/100 000 to 0.70/100 000. Rates have generally declined in all the cities, except Cape Town. The highest rates were reported in the over 60 and the 20 to 39 year old populations, and amongst women of mixed descent. Most strangulations occurred from the early morning hours and across typical working hours in Johannesburg and Durban, and to a lesser extent in Cape Town. Occurrences across Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria were distributed across the days of the week; an exception was Cape Town, which reported the highest rates over the weekend. Cape Town also reported distinctly high blood alcohol content levels of strangulation victims. The seasonal variation in strangulation deaths suggested a pattern of occurrence generally spanning the period from end-winter to summer. Across cities, the predominant crime scene was linked to the domestic context, suggesting that perpetration was by an intimate partner or acquaintance.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study contributes to an emerging gendered homicide risk profile for a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world. The results support the call for the development of evidence-based and gender-specific initiatives to especially address the forms of violence that instigate fatalities.</p