Self-control and family support in the psychosocial risk structure of college students with smoking addiction: A network and latent profile analysis.

Background

Smoking addiction among college students is frequently accompanied by emotional distress, impulsive characteristics, and other forms of addictive behavior. These difficulties are rooted in wider psychosocial contexts that are influenced by early-life experiences and patterns of interpersonal functioning. However, the structural relationships between these domains, and the way in which they contribute to heterogeneous risk profiles, are not well understood.

Methods

A total of 1,962 college students were recruited. Among them, 945 individuals met the criteria for smoking addiction in DSM-5 and were included in the primary analyses. The survey contained 21 scales in five domains: early-life experiences, interpersonal interaction, impulsivity, health and addiction. Network analysis and latent profile analysis (LPA) were performed.

Results

Stress (EI = 1.120, R2 = 0.812) and anxiety (EI = 1.117, R2 = 0.784) showed the greatest centrality in the network. Self-control (SC) was a major bridge node between impulsivity, health-related distress and addictive behaviors (Bridge Strength = 0.617; Bridge EI 1-step = -0.606, 2-step = -1.082). LPA showed four different profiles based on different levels of family support and SC. Profiles with higher levels of SC consistently exhibited lower levels of psychological distress and addictive behaviors, even in the face of relatively limited family support. In contrast, profiles with low SC showed generally high risk in above domains.

Conclusions

SC has a critical role in limiting cross-domain risk connectivity, whereas family support has a primary influence on contextual vulnerability, suggesting SC as an important leverage point for prevention and intervention strategies that aim to address co-occurring mental health difficulties and addictive behaviors.