Examining the relationship between skateboarding and smoking

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a relationship between skateboarding and the smoking of tobacco cigarettes and marijuana. The study presents literature related to why there could be a relationship between these phenomena by referring to the effects of peer pressure, role model observation, the possibility of smoking being a placebo effect for improved performance, marijuana and tobacco and their effects on stress and acute physical pain as well as the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The research was carried out by distributing surveys to 50 local male skateboarders over the age of 18 which consisted of questions related to their subjective experiences with skateboarding, smoking cigarettes and smoking marijuana. The data collected from the surveys was analysed with the One-Way Chi-Squared test using the IBM SPSS 26 software. Completion of the analysis resulted in the confirmation that skateboarding does indeed have a relationship with smoking. Smoking tobacco was most closely associated with peer pressure whilst the use of marijuana was most closely associated with marijuana’s use as a means of stress relief. The study then looks deeper into the implications and possible applications of this relationship in the fields of health and sports psychology.