Stressful Life Events and Psychosomatic Symptoms Among Students Smokers and Non-smokers

The objective of this study is to analyze the rate of stressful life events and psychosomatic symptoms among students smokers and non-smokers and examine the predictive contribution of stress and smoking to subjective health status. Methods were conducted on a convenience sample of 200 students from the University of Mostar, with a median age of 21 (inter-quartile range, three). Exposure to stress was determined using the scale of stressful life events, which assesses social alienation, time pressure, academic failure, everyday social conflicts and academic maladjustment. Psychosomatic symptoms were explored by the questionnaire of psychosomatic symptoms, which assesses gastrointestinal, dermatological, musculoskeletal, pseudoneurological, cardiovascular, flu and cold symptoms. Students were divided into a group of smokers and non-smokers. A group of non-smokers consisted of 101 students who had never smoked, while group of smokers consisted of 99 students who smoke at least three cigarettes per day. The significant differences of results in stressful live events between smokers and non-smokers were obtained for the subscales of social alienation, academic failure and everyday social conflicts. Smokers differed from non-smokers in rate of gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular symptoms and the symptoms of flu and cold. Exposure to stressful life events and smoking were significant predictors of psychosomatic symptoms. The results showed that stressful life events related to academic failure and social relation were important variables in understanding the smoking. Subjective psychological and physical symptoms were most frequently prevalent in smokers compared to non-smokers. Exposure to stressful life events and smoking predicted difficulties in psychological subjective health status.