Keywords
Health knowledge
Practice
Quit motivation
Smoking health impact
University students
How to Cite
Abstract
Smoking prevalence among Indonesian university students remains alarmingly high, particularly among male students in engineering faculties; however, empirical evidence on the behavioral determinants of cessation motivation in this population is limited. Understanding the interplay between health knowledge, attitudes, and cessation-related actions is critical for designing evidence-based smoking cessation programs tailored to the university context. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between smoking-related behavior (knowledge, attitudes, and actions) and motivation to quit smoking among engineering students at Universitas Pejuang Republik Indonesia. An analytical observational study with a cross-sectional design was conducted. A total of 105 active smokers were recruited through purposive sampling from the Faculty of Engineering. Data were collected using a researcher-developed structured questionnaire comprising 40 Likert-scale items across four domains (knowledge, attitudes, actions, and motivation to quit). The instrument was validated through pilot testing (n=30) and demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.78–0.85). Bivariate analysis was performed using chi-square tests and Fisher’s exact test with a significance level of α=0.05. The majority of respondents demonstrated good knowledge (96.19%), positive attitudes (92.38%), positive actions (77.14%), and high motivation to quit smoking (84.76%). Statistically significant associations were observed between motivation to quit smoking and knowledge (p=0.045; OR=4.89), attitudes (p=0.037; OR=5.23), and actions (p=0.044; OR=2.87). All three behavioral components were significantly associated with motivation to quit smoking. Attitudes demonstrated the strongest association, suggesting that university-based smoking cessation programs should prioritize attitude-modification strategies, such as motivational interviewing and peer support groups, complemented by behavioral skills training and smoke-free campus policies.
References
Ambarwati, D., Novitasari, P. D., Jasmine, A. B., Pulungan, R. M., Aulia, F., & Dance, P. I. (2025). The Correlation of Knowledge and Attitudes to Passive Smoking Behavior among Public Health Students of Sriwijaya University, Indonesia. Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior, 10(3), 328–335. https://doi.org/10.26911/thejhpb.2025.10.03.07
Arni, A., Zahran, I., & Umar, A. (2023). Hubungan Perilaku Merokok dengan Tekanan Darah Sistolik dan Tekanan Darah Diastolik pada Masyarakat di Kecamatan Kamanre Kabupaten Luwu Sulawesi Selatan. Jurnal Surya Medika, 9(2), 231–237. https://doi.org/10.33084/jsm.v9i2.5705
Augeraud‐Véron, E., & Leandri, M. (2024). Optimal self‐protection and health risk perceptions: Exploring connections between risk theory and the Health Belief Model. Health Economics, 33(7), 1565–1583. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4826
Chen, L., Tao, Z., Xu, Q., Zhu, Y., Ding, S., & Dong, Y. (2025). Nicotine dependence, motivations, and intention to quit smoking among smoking cessation outpatients: A cross-sectional study. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 23(July), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/205671
Dai, X., Ng, M., Gil, G. F., Morgan, B. W., Anderson, J. A., Adnani, Q. E. S., Aji, B., Aljunid, S. M., Amul, G. G. H., Anwar, S. L., Apostol, G. L. C., Artanti, K. D., Benjakul, S., Bermudez, A. N. C., Chong, B., Chu, D.-T., Do, T. C., Efendi, F., Effendi, D. E., … Gakidou, E. (2025). The epidemiology and burden of smoking in countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), 1990–2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Public Health, 10(6), e442–e455. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00326-8
Deva, H. S., Efendi, F., Asmoro, C. P., Aditya, R. S., McKenna, L., & Alruwaili, A. S. (2025). Predictors Of Tobacco Smoking Initiation Among Indonesian Teenagers: The 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey. F1000Research, 13(May), 410. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.147006.3
Fauzia, M. R., & Handayani, D. Y. (2022). A Reason Action Theory: Factors Impacting Male Students’ Motivation to Quit Smoking. Proceedings Series on Health & Medical Sciences, 3(1), 51–54. https://doi.org/10.30595/pshms.v3i.619
Hamidi, M. N. S., Syahda, S., & Apriyanti, F. (2025). Cognitive Dissonance-Based Smoking Cessation: Comparing Individual Versus Group Interventions Among University Students. Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, 11(5), 61–73. https://doi.org/10.29303/jppipa.v11i5.11108
Kaur, J., Rinkoo, A. V., & Richardson, S. (2024). Trends in smokeless tobacco use and attributable mortality and morbidity in the South-East Asia Region: implications for policy. Tobacco Control, 33(4), 425–433. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2022-057669
Kim, H., Choi, E.-H., Choi, S., Kim, J., & Hong, S. (2024). Influence on Cessation Intentions of Smoking College Students. Journal of the Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 15(2), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.25055/JKSRNT.2024.15.2.57
Korengkeng, L., & Tambalean, T. C. (2023). Hubungan Pengetahuan dan Sikap Keinginan untuk Berhenti Merokok pada Remaja. MAHESA : Malahayati Health Student Journal, 3(7), 1976–1986. https://doi.org/10.33024/mahesa.v3i7.10652
Nagy-Pénzes, G., Vincze, F., & Bíró, É. (2022). A School Intervention’s Impact on Adolescents’ Health-Related Knowledge and Behavior. Frontiers in Public Health, 10(March). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.822155
Pribadi, E. T., & Devy, S. R. (2020). Application of the Health Belief Model on the Intention to Stop Smoking Behavior among Young Adult Women. Journal of Public Health Research, 9(2), 121–124. https://doi.org/10.4081/jphr.2020.1817
Rahmawati, P., Haiya, N. N., Ardian, I., & Azizah, I. R. (2025). Hubungan Tingkat Pengetahuan dan Dukungan Keluarga dengan Keinginan Berhenti Merokok Siswa. Protein : Jurnal Ilmu Keperawatan Dan Kebidanan., 3(2), 155–163. https://doi.org/10.61132/protein.v3i2.1196
Setchoduk, K., Pichayapinyo, P., Lapvongwatana, P., & Chansatitporn, N. (2023). The effectiveness of tobacco cessation programs for university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 21(June), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/162001
Wang, J., Yang, Y., Zhao, S., Liu, H.-T., Xiao, L., Sun, L., Wu, X., Yuan, D., Ma, L., Ju, B.-Z., & Liu, J.-P. (2023). Attitudes and influencing factors associated with smoking cessation: An online cross-sectional survey in China. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 21(June), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/166108
Xing, S., Zhao, M., Magnussen, C. G., & Xi, B. (2022). Proportion and trend in the age of cigarette smoking initiation among adolescent smoking experiencers aged 13–15 years in 148 countries/territories. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1054842
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Juhaerah Juhaerah, Ridhayani Adiningsih, Erlani Erlani, Fajar Akbar, Erwinda Alwi Rachman