(2016) Science and education, 2-3, 99-105. Odessa.

Olena Bespartochna,
PhD (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences), associate professor,
Department of Psychology, Pedagogy and Philosophy,
Anna Ziuman,
Master’s degree student, specialty “Pedagogy of Higher School”
Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University,
20, Pershotravneva Str., Kremenchuk, Ukraine 

INFLUENCE OF TOBACCO SMOKING ON THE QUALITY OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD 

 Tobacco smoking is closely connected with the interpersonal communication since this is a good occasion for the very first cigarette to be smoked which can become the addiction in the future. The reasons, which are a significant factor for tobacco smoking in adolescence, are less relevant in young adulthood. As interpersonal communication becomes more significant in young adulthood, the finding of ways of crossing barriers is vitally important. So, it is considered that tobacco smoking can assist in crossing these barriers and as such improves the quality of the interpersonal communication. The article is aimed at studying the effect of tobacco smoking on the quality of young males’ and females’ interpersonal communication. In the course of the study the authors have compared specific features of emotional barriers which can arise during the interpersonal communication and interpersonal social orientation of both smokers and non-smokers. Besides there have been revealed the special aspects of the tobacco smoking process, which help smokers to cope with interpersonal communication barriers. It has been concluded that smokers more often than non-smokers demonstrate emotionally deficient type of behaviour. They communicate in a “superficially friendly” way, holding themselves aback from others, they are afraid that they cannot be loved, and if they get close to anyone, their disadvantages can be discovered. At the same time smokers face less emotional barriers during interpersonal communication. The authors believe that smokers, being emotionally vulnerable, use smoking as a means of crossing the interpersonal communication barriers. Thus, a cigarette is used as a symbol; smoking is considered as a ritual which allows pauses to be filled, time to be gained for thinking, the building of an emotional block, an excuse for a conversation starting, etc. Moreover, a fruitful relationship to be established requires the joint actions of two interlocutors. Thus, smoking, as a joint activity, relieves stress, encourages people for emotional openness and relaxing. The successful usage of this method for the interpersonal communication facilitation in the referent group makes smokers to gradually transfer such a “behaviour criterion” to other areas of life. This is considered to be the main reason of the unsuccessful antismoking campaign. Together with the physiological dependence, faith in tobacco myths, protective and other mechanisms – all of these complicate the overcoming of the tobacco addiction.

 tobacco smoking, interpersonal communication, adolescence, emotional barriers, referent group.

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