Relationship between Nicotine Addiction and Perceived Stress in Students of Faculty of Sport Sciences: Case of A Public University

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between nicotine addiction and perceived stress among students enrolled in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at a public university. The sample of the study consisted of 209 (n=66 female and n=143 male) volunteer students who were studying at Faculty of Sport Sciences at Aydin Adnan Menderes University during the Spring Semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to determine the nicotine dependency and perceived stress levels of the participants. The data obtained from the surveys were analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 software package. As a result of statistical analysis, a significant difference was found between female and male students in terms of nicotine addiction levels (p<0.05); however, there was no significant difference in perceived stress levels (p>0.05). In addition, a positive and very low relationship was found between nicotine addiction and perceived stress levels (p<0.05). Based on the research results, it was determined that the participants had a high level of nicotine addiction and perceived stress, gender had an impact on nicotine addiction but did not affect perceived stress, and stress was not a significant factor in starting or continuing smoking among the students of the Faculty of Sport Sciences.