Master's Theses

Department

Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

The present study examined attachment style, self-esteem and smoking habits. Participants for this study were recruited from undergraduate Personal Wellness classes. Both attachment style and self-esteem have been linked with health behaviors, such as smoking, in previous research. There currently have not been any studies that have focused on the relation between attachment, self-esteem and smoking by itself. Three scales were then used in this study, Bartholomew and Horowitz's (1991) Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and a Smoking Questionnaire. The RQ was used to determine the participant's attachment style. Rosenberg's Self- Esteem Scale consists of 10 self-report statements that participants rated on a 5-point Likert type scale resulting in a scale range of 10-50 with higher scores representing higher self-esteem. The final scale was a smoking questionnaire that was used to determine whether or not the participants are current cigarette smokers, social smokers, have never smoked, the average number of cigarettes they smoke per day, if they have ever tried quitting, and at what age they started smoking. Results from this study revealed that individuals who report to have a secure attachment style also report to have a higher self-esteem than individuals who report any other attachment style. Results also indicated that there was no relationship between an individual's attachment style and his/her cigarette smoking habits. It was expected that an individual's self-esteem would be higher if he/she were classified as a non-smoker, but the results showed that there was no relationship between the two variables. Finally, results showed that neither self-esteem nor attachment style contribute to the explanation of the number of cigarettes smoked.

Keywords

Psychology

Advisor

Carol L. Patrick

Date of Award

Spring 2006

Document Type

Thesis - campus only access

Rights

© The Author(s)

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