Abstract

The pronounced discrepancy between smokers' intentions to quit and their smoking behavior has led researchers to suggest that many smokers are time inconsistent, have self-control problems, and may benefit from external efforts to constrain their consumption. This study aims to test whether self-control and future orientation predict smoking levels and to identify if these traits modify how cigarette consumption responds to the introduction of tobacco control measures. A sample of Dutch adults (N = 1585) completed a measure of self-control and the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFCS) in 2001 and indicated their tobacco consumption each year from 2001 to 2007. In 2004, a workplace smoking ban and substantial tax increase on tobacco was introduced in the Netherlands. To identify the potential impact of these tobacco control measures we examined whether participants smoked or were heavy smokers (20 + cigarettes per day) each year from 2001 to 2007. Participants with high self-control and CFCS scores showed lower rates of smoking across the seven year period of the study. The 2004 smoking restrictions were linked with a subsequent decline in heavy smoking. This decline was moderated by self-control levels. Those with low self-control showed a large reduction in heavy smoking whereas those with high self-control did not. The effects were, however, temporary: many people with low self-control resumed heavy smoking 2–3 years after the introduction of the tobacco restrictions. The immediate costs which national tobacco control measures impose on smokers may assist smokers with poor self-control in reducing their cigarette consumption.

Abstract

Sharenting is becoming a regular practice that compromises children’s safety and privacy. This phenomenon is related to the act of sharing images of underage children on the Internet by their relatives. At the same time, a concern arises about the levels of Internet addiction in the population. In turn, levels of Internet addiction are a current problem in modern societies that has been linked to low self-control. This paper aims to analyse the degree to which images are published and the reasons why the adult segment of the population practices sharenting, to determine the socio-demographic factors that have an impact on sharenting, Internet addiction and self-control, and to establish the correlations between these three variables. A total of 367 Spanish adults aged between 18 and 61 (M=28.98; SD=10.47) completed an online survey. Both the multiple regression analysis and the structural equation modelling revealed that: 1) Age emerges as a predictor of Internet addiction; 2) Age, gender and employment status are predictors of low self-control; 3) No socio-demographic factors were found to be predictors of sharenting; 4) The only significant correlation was observed between Internet addiction and self-control. Finally, practical implications of this paper on the protection of minors and adults’ need for information on Internet security are discussed.