Adolescent Risk and Protective Factors for the Use of Electronic Cigarettes

Abstract

The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) by adolescents is a serious public health concern. The major aim of the current study is to conduct a comprehensive examination of adolescent e-cigarette use in relation to risk and protective factors for a school-based sample. The present study is based on a secondary data analysis of the 2017 Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) Survey that is administered every 2 years in the state of Utah to a large sample of students ( n = 54,853) in Grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 from more than 400 schools. The PNA Survey measures substance use, mental health symptoms, and antisocial behavior as well as their associated risk and protective factors. Almost 9% of adolescents in this study reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. Adolescents who reported infrequent (1–5 days) and frequent (6+ days) use of e-cigarettes also indicated lower levels of protection (e.g., perceived harm) and higher levels of risk (e.g., favorable attitudes) compared with students who did not report using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. The frequency of adolescent e-cigarette use can distinguish between risk and protective factors. Findings suggest that the risk and protective factors relevant for adolescent alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco use extend to the use of the e-cigarettes. Certain risk factors (e.g., favorable attitudes toward substance use) and protective factors (e.g., perceived risk for use of e-cigarettes) hold promise for preventive interventions in addressing this public health concern.

Social Media Use and Subsequent E-Cigarette Susceptibility, Initiation, and Continued Use Among US Adolescents

“…It is also important to consider other unmeasured psychological and environmental factors that may influence the relationship between social media use and e-cigarette use among adolescents. For example, lower levels of social media use might be associated with having parents who have a protective parenting style that may either restrict social media screen time or adolescent ecigarette use (20). Furthermore, adolescents who do not use social media might be active in other extracurricular activities, which might protect against e-cigarette use (21).…”

Socioeconomic Differences in Lifetime and Past 30-Day E-Cigarette, Cigarette, and Dual Use: A State-Level Analysis of Utah Youth

“…Intergenerational evidence even suggests the presence of links across multiple generations in cigarette smoking [27]. While recent studies have shown that more permissive e-cigarette norms are associated with an increased risk of e-cigarette use among youth [28,29], data on socioeconomic differences in the e-cigarette norms are yet to be presented. Future studies should investigate important questions of the pathways through which neighborhood and household SES are associated with e-cigarette use.…”

“…Despite the novel contribution of the current study to research on socioeconomic differences in youth health behaviors, the results presented here should be interpreted with caution. First, data are from one state in the United States with strong norms against substance use [29]. It remains possible that states with more permissive norms against substance use may exhibit different associations between socioeconomic factors and e-cigarette, cigarette, and dual use.…”

E-Cigarette Use Is Associated with Increased Psychological Distress among Youth: A Pooled Cross-Sectional Analysis of State-Level Data from 2019 and 2021

“…These youth may be at higher risk for both substance use and mental health problems [ 36 , 37 ] or may display different patterns of association between substance use and mental health problems. Second, Utah youth typically report lower substance use rates compared to other states, in part due to more restrictive social norms against substance use [ 38 ]. As such, results may not generalize to youth in other states.…”