Adolescents have unfavorable opinions of adolescents who use e-cigarettes

Abstract

IntroductionWhile evidence suggests positive opinions of smokers are associated with tobacco use, research exploring adolescents’ opinions of e-cigarette users is nascent. We hypothesized that adolescents harbor positive opinions of e-cigarette users, and that these opinions will be more positive among adolescents willing to try or who have used e-cigarettes.MethodsParticipants were 578 U.S. adolescents (ages 14 to 20) recruited from ten California schools. An online survey assessed their attitudes toward and opinions of adolescents who use e-cigarettes in 2015–2016. Analyses examined whether these variables were associated with willingness to try and use (ever vs. never) of e-cigarettes.ResultsThe majority (61%) of participants had negative overall opinions toward adolescent e-cigarette users. Few participants ascribed positive traits (i.e., sexy, cool, clean, smart, and healthy) to e-cigarette users. Participants who were willing to try or had used e-cigarettes endorsed positive traits more than those unwilling to try and never-users (all p < .01). Participants sometimes endorsed negative traits (i.e., unattractive, trashy, immature, disgusting, and inconsiderate) to describe e-cigarette users. Unwilling and never-users viewed negative traits as more descriptive of e-cigarette users than willing or ever-users (all p < .01).ConclusionsAdolescents generally had somewhat negative opinions of other adolescents who use e-cigarettes. Building on adolescents’ negativity toward adolescent e-cigarette users may be a productive direction for prevention efforts, and clinicians can play an important role by keeping apprised of the products their adolescent patients are using and providing information on health effects to support negative opinions or dissuade formation of more positive ones.

A qualitative analysis of adolescents' perspectives on peer and influencer alcohol‐related posts on social media

“…Extending prior research, some participants described negative perceptions of peer‐ and influencer‐generated alcohol content, including that peers may be exhibiting poor judgement and that influencers may be ‘selling out’ or mis‐using their platform. This is consistent with findings relating to e‐cigarette posts on social media [53, 54]; however, more research is needed to disentangle how unfavourable attitudes about posting alcohol‐related content online is tied to future drinking behaviour and how that can be leveraged in interventions (e.g., employing influencers for anti‐alcohol campaigns, as has been used with other substances [55]). It is possible that the contrasting positive and negative perceptions of alcohol‐related posts by adolescents in this study highlight the bi‐directional relationship between social media content and adolescent attitudes, such that pre‐existing attitudes about alcohol use influence adolescent reactions to alcohol‐related posts and exposure to alcohol‐related posts influences adolescents' future attitudes about alcohol.…”

The Vaping Teenager: Understanding the Psychographics and Interests of Adolescent Vape Users to Inform Health Communication Campaigns

“…32-35 In addition, these insights are critical for the effective planning and execution of modern digital media campaigns that rely on interest-based targeting to deliver digital advertisements to the intended audience. 36 Past studies describing ever and current vape users have typically focused on vaping attitudes and beliefs, 37-40 or have used psychographics and motivations to segment adult, but not adolescent, vape users into discrete subgroups. 41,42 Only a few studies have examined the psychographics of adolescent or young adult vape users, revealing that novelty-seeking, sensation-seeking, and lower social conservatism are generally associated with ever and current vaping in these populations.…”

Sexy, trashy, cool: Perceptions of electronic cigarette users across sociodemographic groups and E-cigarette use among United States Air Force Airmen

“…Past studies related to smoking and alcohol use have shown that young individuals with positive prototypes of someone using a substance are more likely to use themselves ( Aloise-Young et al, 1996 , Blanton et al, 1997 ). One study that inspired the current work and used almost identical questions to those in the current study found that youth ages 14–20 who reported higher willingness to try e-cigarettes or had tried them previously were more likely to report positive attributes of e-cigarette users ( McKelvey et al, 2018 ), demonstrating the impact prototypes may hold for e-cigarette users. These attributes have not, to our knowledge, been examined among young adult e-cigarette users (e.g., above age 20), across different sociodemographic groups, or among young adult military populations at higher risk for tobacco use.…”

“…Most current research has focused on beliefs related to consequences of using e-cigarettes, but less about characteristics associated with using e-cigarettes, or what people think about the person using the product. These perceptions may be important because it addresses the schema or “prototype” ( McKelvey et al, 2018 ) a person has assigned users of these products. Past studies related to smoking and alcohol use have shown that young individuals with positive prototypes of someone using a substance are more likely to use themselves ( Aloise-Young et al, 1996 , Blanton et al, 1997 ).…”