The Theory of Planned Behavior and E-cig Use: Impulsive Personality, E-cig Attitudes, and E-cig Use

Abstract

The current paper applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1988) to understand how impulsive personality traits and attitudes concerning e-cig use relate to the likelihood of electronic cigarette (e-cig) use. Seven hundred and fourteen participants (Mean age = 34.04, SD = 10.89, 48.6% female) completed cross-sectional measures of e-cig use attitudes (CEAC) and the Short UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. A structural path analysis suggested that urgency and deficits in conscientiousness were significantly related to e-cig attitudes (CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.02; urgency: β = 0.32, p = .001; deficits in conscientiousness: β = -0.48, p < .001). E-cig attitude scores were significantly higher for e-cig users than non-users, β = 0.85, p < .001. There was no significant direct path from impulsive personality traits to e-cig use. Findings provide initial support for a model in which impulsive traits are related to e-cig use through positive e-cig attitudes.

“Essentially, All Models Are Wrong, but Some Are Useful”: A Preliminary Conceptual Model of Co-occurring E-cig and Alcohol Use

“…Given emerging data suggesting e-cig use is related to impulsive personality [9–10] and a substantial body of literature indicating impulsive personality is related to alcohol use [11], we have chosen to use impulsive personality as one example of a common risk factor for both e-cig and alcohol use (see Figure 1, box A). Research indicates that impulsive personality developmentally precedes and contributes to alcohol use [12–13].…”

“…There is emerging evidence that e-cig use is related to impulsive personality traits [9–10]. Impulsive personality is likely composed of multiple separate, though related, traits [15]: sensation seeking (the tendency to seek out new and exciting experiences), lack of planning (the tendency to not think before acting), lack of perseverance (the tendency to not finish what one starts), negative urgency (the tendency to act rashly in response to negative emotions), and positive urgency (the tendency to act rashly in response to positive emotions).…”

“…Recent research has begun to suggest how these separate traits are associated with e-cig use, although this work is quite preliminary. Sensation seeking is related to past 30-day e-cig use [9], whereas the remaining traits are related to current e-cig use [10]. Clearly, more work needs to be done in this area to better understand how these separate impulsive personality traits relate to e-cig use.…”

“…Research with cigarettes indicates that sensation seeking and negative urgency are related to cigarette use initiation in part through reinforcement expectancies of cigarette use [17], leading us to hypothesize that this might also occur with e-cigs. Preliminary work suggests that these impulsive personality traits are related to e-cig use through more positive attitudes towards e-cigs [10], although this work has been done in cross-sectional samples, thereby preventing the examination of prospective trajectories. Taken together, we suggest impulsive personality is a viable risk factor for both e-cig and alcohol use through the development of positive expectancies of e-cig use [9–10, 16] and alcohol use [14] (see Figure 1, box A and B).…”

“…Preliminary work suggests that these impulsive personality traits are related to e-cig use through more positive attitudes towards e-cigs [10], although this work has been done in cross-sectional samples, thereby preventing the examination of prospective trajectories. Taken together, we suggest impulsive personality is a viable risk factor for both e-cig and alcohol use through the development of positive expectancies of e-cig use [9–10, 16] and alcohol use [14] (see Figure 1, box A and B). Due to the preliminary nature of this work, we do not make specific claims concerning which impulsive personality traits predispose one to developing such positive e-cig expectancies and subsequent use, although the cigarette research literature suggests viability of sensation seeking and negative urgency as prime initial candidates [14].…”