The Relationship Between Self-Control and Nicotine Dependence Among Chinese College Student Smokers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66581/pa9q4a82Keywords:
college student smokers, self-control, sleep quality problems, nicotine dependence, cross-sectional mediation analysisAbstract
Objective: College student smokers are in a transitional developmental stage from late adolescence to early adulthood, during which smoking behavior may be associated with self-regulation difficulties, sleep quality problems, and nicotine dependence. Although previous studies have examined the relationships between smoking and sleep, self-control and health behavior, and sleep quality problems and addictive behavior, relatively limited research has incorporated self-control, sleep quality problems, and nicotine dependence into the same cross-sectional statistical mediation model among Chinese college student smokers. This study examined the associations among self-control, sleep quality problems, and nicotine dependence, and tested whether sleep quality problems played a cross-sectional statistical mediating role between self-control and nicotine dependence.
Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted, and 945 Chinese college student smokers with at least one year of smoking history were included in the final analysis. The Self-Control Scale was used to assess self-control, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess sleep quality problems, and the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence was used to assess nicotine dependence. SPSS 26.0 was used for descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis, and PROCESS macro Model 4 was used to test the cross-sectional statistical mediation effect. The indirect effect was estimated using 5,000 bootstrap samples to obtain 95% confidence intervals. Sex, age, only-child status, and long-term residence were controlled in the model.
Results: Self-control was significantly negatively correlated with both sleep quality problems and nicotine dependence, whereas sleep quality problems were significantly positively correlated with nicotine dependence. After controlling for demographic variables, the reported path coefficients were standardized regression coefficients: self-control significantly negatively predicted sleep quality problems (β = -0.330, p < 0.001), sleep quality problems significantly positively predicted nicotine dependence (β = 0.103, p = 0.002), and the direct path from self-control to nicotine dependence remained significant (β = -0.119, p < 0.001). Bootstrap analysis indicated that the completely standardized indirect effect of sleep quality problems between self-control and nicotine dependence was significant (effect = -0.0341, BootSE = 0.0118, 95% bootstrap CI [-0.0579, -0.0116]).
Conclusion: Among Chinese college student smokers, lower self-control was associated with higher nicotine dependence both directly and indirectly through more severe sleep quality problems. These findings suggest that sleep quality problems may represent a meaningful behavioral link between self-control and nicotine dependence in a cross-sectional statistical mediation model. Campus tobacco-control and student health interventions may benefit from integrating self-control training, sleep health education, routine management, and nicotine dependence risk screening.
References
Akbari, M., Hasani, J., & Seydavi, M. (2020). Negative affect among daily smokers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 553–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.063
Amiri, S., & Behnezhad, S. (2020). Smoking and risk of sleep-related issues: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 111(5), 775–786. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-020-00308-3
Baker, T. B., Piper, M. E., McCarthy, D. E., Majeskie, M. R., & Fiore, M. C. (2004). Addiction motivation reformulated: An affective processing model of negative reinforcement.Psychological Review, 111(1), 33–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.111.1.33
Becker, S. P., Jarrett, M. A., Luebbe, A. M., Garner, A. A., Burns, G. L., & Kofler, M. J. (2018). Sleep in a large, multi-university sample of college students: Sleep problem prevalence, sex differences, and mental health correlates. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, 4(2), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2018.01.001
Benowitz, N. L. (2009). Pharmacology of nicotine: Addiction, smoking-induced disease, and therapeutics. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicologyl, 49, 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.pharmtox.48.113006.094742
Boehm, M. A., Lei, Q. M., Lloyd, R. M., & Prichard, J. R. (2016). Depression, anxiety, and tobacco use: Overlapping impediments to sleep in a national sample of college students. Journal of American College Health, 64(7), 565–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2016.1205073
Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., 3rd, Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28(2), 193–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4
Cohrs, S., Rodenbeck, A., Riemann, D., Szagun, B., Jaehne, A., Brinkmeyer, J., Gründer, G., Wienker, T., Diaz-Lacava, A., Mobascher, A., Dahmen, N., Thuerauf, N., Kornhuber, J., Kiefer, F., Gallinat, J., Wagner, M., Kunz, D., Grittner, U., & Winterer, G. (2014). Impaired sleep quality and sleep duration in smokers—results from the German Multicenter Study on Nicotine Dependence. Addiction Biology, 19(3), 486–496. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1369-1600.2012.00487.x
DiFranza, J. R., Savageau, J. A., Rigotti, N. A., Fletcher, K., Ockene, J. K., McNeill, A. D., Coleman, M., & Wood, C. (2002). Development of symptoms of tobacco dependence in youths: 30 month follow up data from the DANDY study. Tobacco Control, 11(3), 228–235. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.11.3.228
Etter, J.-F., Le Houezec, J., & Perneger, T. V. (2003). A self-administered questionnaire to measure dependence on cigarettes: the cigarette dependence scale. Neuropsychopharmacology, 28(2), 359–370. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1300030
Fagerström, K. (2012). Determinants of tobacco use and renaming the FTND to the Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 14(1), 75–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntr137
Fluharty, M., Taylor, A. E., Grabski, M., & Munafò, M. R. (2017). The association of cigarette smoking with depression and anxiety: A systematic review.Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 19(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntw140
Geng, Y., Gu, J., Wang, J., & Zhang, R. (2021). Smartphone addiction and depression, anxiety: The role of bedtime procrastination and self-control. Journal of Affective Disorders, 293, 415–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.06.062
Goldstein, A. N., & Walker, M. P. (2014). The role of sleep in emotional brain function. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 679–708. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032813-153716
Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press.
Heatherton, T. F., Kozlowski, L. T., Frecker, R. C., & Fagerstrom, K.-O. (1991). The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence: A revision of the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. British Journal of Addiction, 86(9), 1119–1127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01879.x
Huang, Q., Li, Y., Huang, S., Qi, J., Shao, T., Chen, X., Liao, Z., Lin, S., Zhang, X., Cai, Y., & Chen, H. (2020). Smartphone use and sleep quality in Chinese college students: A preliminary study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, Article 352. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00352
Jaehne, A., Loessl, B., Bárkai, Z., Riemann, D., & Hornyak, M. (2009). Effects of nicotine on sleep during consumption, withdrawal and replacement therapy. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 13(5), 363–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2008.12.003
Kroese, F. M., De Ridder, D. T. D., Evers, C., & Adriaanse, M. A. (2014). Bedtime procrastination: Introducing a new area of procrastination. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 611. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00611
Kühnel, J., Syrek, C. J., & Dreher, A. (2018). Why don’t you go to bed on time? A daily diary study on the relationships between chronotype, self-control resources and the phenomenon of bedtime procrastination. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 77. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00077
Leventhal, A. M., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2015). Anxiety, depression, and cigarette smoking: A transdiagnostic vulnerability framework to understanding emotion-smoking comorbidity. Psychological Bulletin, 141(1), 176–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000003
Lund, H. G., Reider, B. D., Whiting, A. B., & Prichard, J. R. (2010). Sleep patterns and predictors of disturbed sleep in a large population of college students.. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(2), 124–132. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.06.016.
Maxwell, S., & Cole, D. (2007). Bias in Cross-Sectional Analyses of Longitudinal Mediation. Psychological Methods, 12, 23–44. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.12.1.23
Mingxin, Q., Xinying, Z., Liu, S., Ying, L., & Xiao, L. (2026). Smoking Prevalence and Initiation Reasons Among College Students — China, 2025. China CDC Weekly, 8, 673–678. https://doi.org/10.46234/ccdcw2026.109
Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Poulton, R., Roberts, B. W., Ross, S., Sears, M. R., Thomson, W. M., & Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2693–2698. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
Palmer, C., & Alfano, C. (2016). Sleep and emotion regulation: An organizing, integrative review.. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2015.12.006
Piasecki, T., Richardson, A., & Smith, S. (2007). Self-monitored motives for smoking among college students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 328–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-164X.21.3.328
Piper, M. E., Piasecki, T. M., Federman, E. B., Bolt, D. M., Smith, S. S., Fiore, M. C., & Baker, T. B. (2004). A multiple motives approach to tobacco dependence: the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM-68).Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(2), 139–154. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.72.2.139
Podsakoff, P., MacKenzie, S., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879
Purani, H., Friedrichsen, S., & Allen, A. M. (2019). Sleep quality in cigarette smokers: Associations with smoking-related outcomes and exercise. Addictive Behaviors, 90, 71–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.10.023
Ridder, D., Lensvelt-Mulders, G., Finkenauer, C., Stok, M., & Baumeister, R. (2012). Taking Stock of Self-Control A Meta-Analysis of How Trait Self-Control Relates to a Wide Range of Behaviors. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16, 76–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868311418749
Shiffman, S., Waters, A., & Hickcox, M. (2004). The nicotine dependence syndrome scale: a multidimensional measure of nicotine dependenceNicotine & Tobacco Research, 6(2), 327–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/1462220042000202481
Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004).High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00263.x
Wetter, D. W., & Young, T. B. (1994). The relation between cigarette smoking and sleep disturbance. Preventive Medicine, 23(3), 328–334. https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.1994.1046
Wilson, S. J., & Maclean, R. R. (2013). Associations between self-control and dimensions of nicotine dependence: a preliminary report. Addictive Behaviors, 38(3), 1812–1815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.11.004
Yang, J., Fu, X., Liao, X., & Li, Y. (2020). Association of problematic smartphone use with poor sleep quality, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 284, 112686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112686
Zhang, M. X., & Wu, A. M. S. (2020). Effects of smartphone addiction on sleep quality among Chinese university students: The mediating role of self-regulation and bedtime procrastination. Addictive Behaviors, 111, 106552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106552
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Buling Huang, Weiqiang Qi, Taiyong Bi (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1.Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). This allows others to share the work (copy and redistribute) and adapt the work (remix, transform, and build upon) for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited.
2.Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3.Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
