Full text

Turn on search term navigation

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Vaping is popular among adolescents. Previous research has explored sources of information and influence on youth vaping, including marketing, ads, family, peers, social media, and the internet. This research endeavors to expand understanding of peer influence. Our hypothesis is that friends’ influence on teen vapers’ first electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use varies by demographic variables and awareness of ENDS advertising. In August–October 2017, youth (n = 3174) aged 13–18 completed an online survey to quantify ENDS behaviors and attitudes and were invited to participate in follow-up online research in November-December 2017 to probe qualitative context around perceptions and motivations (n = 76). This analysis focused on the ENDS users, defined as having ever tried any ENDS product, from the survey (n = 1549) and the follow-up research (n = 39). Among survey respondents, friends were the most common source of vapers’ first ENDS product (60%). Most survey respondents tried their first ENDS product while “hanging out with friends” (54%). Among follow-up research participants, the theme of socializing was also prominent. ENDS advertising and marketing through social media had a strong association with friend networks; in fact, the odds of friends as source of the first vaping experience were 2 times higher for those who had seen ENDS ads on social media compared with other types of media. The influence of friends is particularly evident among non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics/Latinos, those living in urban areas, those living in high-income households, those with higher self-esteem, and those who experiment with vaping. These findings support the premise that peer influence is a primary social influencer and reinforcer for vaping. Being included in a popular activity appears to be a strong driving force.

Details

Title
The Influence of Friends on Teen Vaping: A Mixed-Methods Approach
Author
Groom, Allison L 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Vu, Thanh-Huyen T 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Landry, Robyn L 1 ; Kesh, Anshula 1 ; Hart, Joy L 3 ; Walker, Kandi L 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wood, Lindsey A 3 ; Robertson, Rose Marie 4 ; Payne, Thomas J 5 

 American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, Dallas, TX 75231, USA; [email protected] (R.L.L.); [email protected] (A.K.); [email protected] (R.M.R.) 
 Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; [email protected] 
 Department of Communication, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA; [email protected] (J.L.H.); [email protected] (K.L.W.); [email protected] (L.A.W.) 
 American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, Dallas, TX 75231, USA; [email protected] (R.L.L.); [email protected] (A.K.); [email protected] (R.M.R.); Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA 
 Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA; [email protected]; Department of Psychiatry, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA 
First page
6784
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2549333836
Copyright
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.