Effects of Resource Sharing Networks on Community Anti-Drug Coalitions' Outcomes: A Social Network Analysis.

Substance use-related problems continue to be a national public health crisis despite years of prevention efforts. Community anti-drug coalitions are well positioned to address substance use at local levels. Coalitions often rely on their members to connect to resources they need to address community issues and plan for sustainability over time. Such capacity building occurs through voluntary cooperation among members, making it essential to understand the role network connections play. This study sought to determine whether structural characteristics of coalitions' resource sharing networks impact members' perceptions of community improvement and coalition sustainability. Surveys at two timepoints collected data from 68 coalitions in Pennsylvania and Missouri on members' connections or ties to share information, personnel, money, or other types of collaboration. Analyses examined how coalition-level measurements of sectoral diversity, density, and resource sharing centralization, respectively, were associated with members' perceptions of community improvement, sustainability planning, and coalition sustainability. Sectoral diversity and centralization were unrelated to study outcomes. Density was also unrelated with perceived community improvement and sustainability planning. However, two facets of cooperative density were positively associated with perceived coalition sustainability: the density of ties to share information and the density of multiple types of collaborative ties. This study suggests that both information and other collaborative ties foster perceived coalition sustainability, although not community improvement.

Vales+Tú: a cluster-randomized pilot study to reduce workplace injuries among US Latino day laborers.

Latino day laborers (LDL) are a vulnerable population of workers facing considerable risk for occupational injury. Under the guidance of our Community Advisory Board, we developed and tested the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of Vales+Tú (You Are Worth More), a workplace injury risk-reduction program implemented by promotores on street-corners where LDL seek employment. The program was informed by theoretical perspectives emphasizing individual and group agency and self-determination. A pilot three-arm cluster-randomized community trial was conducted among 75 LDL. The intervention arms consisted of an individualized Brief Motivational Interview, a Group Problem Solving activity and a standard of care control (OSHA safety cards). We met our study goal of 25 LDL per intervention arm, and contacted 88% of participants post intervention. Participants evaluated the interventions favorably. At post-test, the Brief Motivational Interview group reported significant reductions in exposure to workplace hazards and increases in risk-reduction practices. The Group Problem Solving participants showed significant reductions in exposure to hazards (t-test -4.16, p < 0.001). Both intervention groups increased their reliance on corner peers, a measure of social support. Standard of care participants increased in self-efficacy to work safely. Overall, the only significant different between the three study conditions was in self-efficacy. These findings provide evidence of the feasibility and acceptability of Vales+Tú and show preliminary program efficacy. A large-scale replication trial will permit a more formal modeling of the study findings. Clinical Trial Registration (ClinicalTrials.gov): NCT04378348.

This pilot-randomized trial tested the feasibility and initial efficacy of an injury risk-reduction program among Latino day laborers (LDL). The study tested two alternative interventions consisting of a Brief Motivational Interview (Individual) and a Group Problem Solving (Group) conditions that were compared with a Standard-of-Care control group receiving safety cards. We then tested the extent to which the study conditions reduced exposure to workplace hazards and increased safety practices at work. Results indicate that intervening at day labor corners is a feasible intervention strategy acceptable to these immigrant workers. Initial results also indicate that there were multiple within-group significant differences in risk reduction, mostly in the individual condition, and that there was one significant between-group difference in safety self-efficacy at post-test. A larger more rigorous trial can further test the stability of these results and determine the extent to which these intervention approaches can reduce the risk for injury that LDL confront at work.

Body composition outcomes of Healthy Fit and the role of acculturation among low-income Hispanics on the US-Mexico border.

BACKGROUND: Hispanic immigrants continue to experience higher rates of overweight and obesity compared to their non-Hispanic counterparts. Acculturation may contribute to unhealthy weight gain among immigrant populations by shifting dietary patterns from high fruit and vegetable consumption to unhealthier high fat diets. Healthy Fit, a culturally tailored community health worker (CHW) intervention, aims to reduce obesity related outcomes by providing physical activity and nutrition education and resources in a low-income Hispanic population. This study aims to evaluate outcomes of Healthy Fit participants and examine changes in body composition in relation to level of acculturation at baseline and follow-up. METHOD: In this longitudinal observational study, CHWs recruited 514 participants from community events and agencies serving low-income Hispanic populations in El Paso, Texas from 2015 to 2016. Following an in-person health screening, eligible participants received nutrition and physical activity education guided by fotonovelas, comic-like educational books. Telephone follow-ups made at 1, 3, and 6 months by CHWs encouraged follow-through on referrals. 288 participants completed the screening again during the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: The sample was predominantly Hispanic (96%), female (82%), uninsured (79%), had a household income of less than $19,999 (70%), foreign-born (79%), preferred Spanish (86%) and few rated themselves as good or excellent for English proficiency (27%). Overall, Healthy Fit participants significantly improved (i.e., decreased) BFP by 0.71% (t = 2.47, p = 0.01) but not BMI (b = .01, t = - 0.14, p = .89). Contrary to expectations, acculturation was not associated with lower BMI (b = 0.09, p = 0.84) or BFP (b = 0.13, p = 0.85) at baseline. However, acculturation predicted changes in both BMI (b = 0.30, p = 0.03) and BFP (b = 1.33, p = 0 .01) from baseline to follow-up. Specifically, the low acculturation group improved in body composition measures over time and the high acculturation group did not improve in either measure. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest Healthy Fit was most effective among less acculturated individuals. The influence of acculturation on the efficacy of nutrition and exercise interventions suggests that Hispanics should not be treated as a homogenous subgroup.

Attitudes toward tobacco among low-income Hispanic adolescents: Implications for prevention.

Background: Although US cigarette smoking rates have steadily declined, the changing nature of nicotine consumption and the popularity of non-combustible nicotine products urges us to revise tobacco prevention strategies. Research on smoking perspectives among Hispanic youth is limited yet crucial for prevention efforts with Hispanics being the largest minority in the U.S.Objective: This study sought to understand the experience and perceptions of low-income Hispanic youth regarding tobacco use.Methods: Forty-nine adolescents (ages 9 to 19) from El Paso, Texas, participated in five extended focus group discussions about tobacco/nicotine use.Results: Adolescents were predominantly exposed to tobacco through relatives, although school and party contexts became more relevant as youth aged. Youth had negative perceptions of tobacco and smokers, but believed their peers often viewed tobacco positively. Youth also saw tobacco use as a functional stress-management strategy, especially within their extended family. Health and family were strong motivators not to smoke.Conclusions: Youth maintain several tensions in their views on tobacco. Tobacco use is considered unpleasant and harmful, yet youth perceive their peers to view it as cool. Peer to peer discussion of tobacco experiences and perceptions may help correct these incongruent viewpoints. Adding to this tension is the perception that tobacco is used to manage stress. Given the importance of the home environment for Hispanic youth, tobacco prevention efforts may benefit from engaging family to identify the ways in which tobacco use causes stress.

Promoting Hispanic Immigrant Health via Community Health Workers and Motivational Interviewing.

Hispanic immigrant health disparities are among the highest in the nation, especially related to obesity and access to health services. Healthy Fit (En Forma Saludable) is a health promotion program that leverages public health department infrastructure to address these disparities through the use of three key innovations explored in this article: community health workers (CHWs), motivational interviewing (MI), and vouchers for free preventative health services. CHWs trained in MI conduct a health screening and then distribute preventive service vouchers and health resources as needed based on screening results. Vouchers cover breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, and several vaccinations including flu and human papillomavirus. Resources to support exercise, to support a healthy diet, to quit smoking, and to reduce risky drinking are also distributed as needed. CHWs then use MI to address perceived barriers and strengthen intrinsic motivation to make use of the health resources. Integrating these strategies provides a low-cost approach to promote healthy behavior in an underserved immigrant population.

Using a reasoned action approach to identify determinants of organized exercise among Hispanics: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Research on Hispanics' activity preferences suggest that they prefer engaging in group-oriented physical activities, such as organized exercise. Yet, little is known about pathways to participation in organized exercise among Hispanics. This study used a reasoned action approach (RAA) framework to explore beliefs and determinants of organized exercise among Hispanics. Specifically, we examined the impact of participants' intentions on reported organized exercise behavior, and the relation between intentions and attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy. METHODS: Our mixed-methods study was part of a larger pre-post design intervention study. Participants completed an interview containing open- and closed-ended questions to identify salient beliefs and practices about attending organized exercise activities. We conducted two separate regression models to assess the effects of intentions on behavior (n = 330) and the associations of RAA constructs on intentions (n = 101), both adjusting for demographics. Qualitative analysis of a sub-sample (n = 105) of responses to open-ended questions identified salient beliefs related to organized exercise attendance. RESULTS: Our results showed that intentions predicted behavior at follow up (IRR = 2.03, p < .05), and that attitudes and perceived behavioral control were associated with intentions (ß = .36, p < .05; ß = .36, p <. 05, respectively). Qualitative findings suggest participants value health and the behavioral benefits of attending organized exercise activities; feel approval from family and friends; and identify transportation, time, distance, and costs as factors that influence their attendance to organized exercise activities. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with theoretical expectations, we identified statistically significant determinants of intentions and attendance to organized exercise. Findings can inform the development of persuasive messages and interventions to promote exercise in low-income Hispanic populations facing obesity disparities.

Integrating Journalism Into Health Promotion: Creating and Disseminating Community Narratives.

Media coverage of mental health and other social issues often relies on episodic narratives that suggest individualistic causes and solutions, while reinforcing negative stereotypes. Community narratives can provide empowering alternatives, serving as media advocacy tools used to shape the policy debate on a social issue. This article provides health promotion researchers and practitioners with guidance on how to develop and disseminate community narratives to broaden awareness of social issues and build support for particular programs and policy solutions. To exemplify the community narrative development process and highlight important considerations, this article examines a narrative from a mental health consumer-run organization. In the narrative, people with mental health problems help one another while operating a nonprofit organization, thereby countering stigmatizing media portrayals of people with mental illness as dangerous and incompetent. The community narrative frame supports the use of consumer-run organizations, which are not well-known and receive little funding despite evidence of effectiveness. The article concludes by reviewing challenges to disseminating community narratives, such as creating a product of interest to media outlets, and potential solutions, such as engaging media representatives through community health partnerships and using social media to draw attention to the narratives.

Evaluation of Healthy Fit: A Community Health Worker Model to Address Hispanic Health Disparities.

INTRODUCTION: Hispanics in the United States have disproportionately high rates of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes and poorer access to preventive health services. Healthy Fit uses community health workers to extend public health department infrastructure and address Hispanic health disparities related to cardiovascular disease and access to preventive health services. We evaluated the effectiveness of Healthy Fit in 1) reaching Hispanic Americans facing health disparities, and 2) helping participants access preventive health services and make behavior changes to improve heart health. METHODS: Community health workers recruited a sample of predominantly low-income Hispanic immigrant participants (N = 514). Following a health screening, participants received vouchers for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, and received vaccinations as needed for influenza, pneumonia, and human papillomavirus. Participants who were overweight or had high blood pressure received heart health fotonovelas and referrals to community-based exercise activities. Community health workers completed follow-up phone calls at 1, 3, and 6 months after the health screening to track participant uptake on the referrals and encourage follow-through. RESULTS: Participants faced health disparities related to obesity and screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer. Postintervention completion rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening were 54%, 43%, and 32%, respectively, among participants who received a voucher and follow-up phone call. Among participants with follow-up data who were overweight or had high blood pressure, 70% read the fotonovela, 66% completed 1 or more heart health activities in the fotonovela, 21% attended 1 or more community-based exercise activities, and 79% took up some other exercise on their own. CONCLUSION: Healthy Fit is a feasible and low-cost strategy for addressing Hispanic health disparities related to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Effects of Sectoral Diversity on Community Coalition Processes and Outcomes.

Collaboration with diverse partners is challenging but essential for the implementation of prevention programs and policies. Increased communication with partners from diverse sectors may help community coalitions overcome the challenges that diversity presents. We examined these issues empirically in a study of 17 substance use prevention coalitions in Mexico. Building on coalition and workgroup literatures, we hypothesized that sectoral diversity would improve outcomes but undermine coalition processes. Conversely, we expected uniformly positive effects from higher levels of intersectoral communication. Data are from a 2015 survey of 211 members within the 17 community coalitions. Regression models used sectoral diversity and intersectoral communication to predict coalition processes (cohesion, leader-member communication, efficiency) and outcomes (community support, community improvement, sustainability planning). Sectoral diversity was negatively associated with coalition processes and was not associated with coalition outcomes. Intersectoral communication was positively associated with two of the three measures of coalition outcomes but not associated with coalition processes. Our findings concur with those from prior research indicating that sectoral diversity may undermine coalition processes. However, more communication between sectors may facilitate the coalition outcomes of community support and sustainability planning. Skilled team leaders and participatory decision making may also help coalitions promote intersectoral communication, thereby engaging diverse community sectors to implement preventive interventions and actualize sustained public health impact.

Unintended birth among Hispanic women in Texas: a descriptive analysis.

Unintended birth is associated with adverse maternal and infant outcomes. In 2006, US Hispanics had the highest unintended birth rate (45 births/1,000 women) compared to other groups. One-fifth of US Hispanic women reside in Texas, yet unintended birth among Texas Hispanics has not been studied. The goal of this study was to describe the prevalence and characteristics of unintended birth in this population. Using data from Hispanic participants in the Texas Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System 2009-2010, we studied unintended birth in relation to demographic, lifestyle and partner characteristics. Adjusted prevalence odds ratios (POR) were computed for each characteristic and the analysis was stratified by maternal nativity (US vs foreign born). The weighted proportion of unintended birth was 49.5 % (CI = 45.9-52.6). In adjusted analyses, women aged 12-19 had a higher prevalence of unintended birth compared to ≥20 years (POR = 2.1, CI = 1.3-3.7). Unmarried (POR = 1.5, CI = 1.1-2.1), uninsured (POR = 1.7, CI = 1.2-2.3), and US-born (POR = 1.6, CI = 1.0-2.6) women had higher prevalence compared to married, insured and foreign-born women, respectively. Among US-born Hispanic women, higher prevalence of unintended birth was associated with being young, unmarried and experiencing psychological stressors within 12 months of giving birth; among foreign-born Hispanic women, higher prevalence was associated with lack of insurance. Efforts to reduce unintended birth in Texas might focus on young, single, uninsured and US-born Hispanic women. Analyses of other pre-pregnancy factors and health outcomes among Texas Hispanics could increase understanding of the differences we observed in unintended birth between US and foreign-born Hispanics.

Reciprocal relations between coalition functioning and the provision of implementation support.

Community coalitions have been promoted as a strategy to help overcome challenges to the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based prevention programs. This paper explores the characteristics of coalitions that enable the provision of implementation support for prevention programs in general and for the implementation of evidence-based prevention programs with fidelity. Longitudinal cross-lagged panel models were used to study 74 Communities That Care (CTC) coalitions in Pennsylvania. These analyses provide evidence of a unidirectional influence of coalition functioning on the provision of implementation support. Coalition member knowledge of the CTC model best predicted the coalition's provision of support for evidence-based program implementation with fidelity. Implications for developing and testing innovative methods for delivering training and technical assistance to enhance coalition member knowledge are discussed.

Comparing the Functioning of Youth and Adult Partnerships for Health Promotion.

Youth partnerships are a promising but understudied strategy for prevention and health promotion. Specifically, little is known about how the functioning of youth partnerships differs from that of adult partnerships. Accordingly, this study compared the functioning of youth partnerships with that of adult partnerships. Several aspects of partnership functioning, including leadership, task focus, cohesion, participation costs and benefits, and community support, were examined. Standardized partnership functioning surveys were administered to participants in three smoke-free youth coalitions (n = 44; 45 % female; 43 % non-Hispanic white; mean age = 13) and in 53 Communities That Care adult coalitions (n = 673; 69 % female; 88 % non-Hispanic white; mean age = 49). Multilevel regression analyses showed that most aspects of partnership functioning did not differ significantly between youth and adult partnerships. These findings are encouraging given the success of the adult partnerships in reducing community-level rates of substance use and delinquency. Although youth partnership functioning appears to be strong enough to support effective prevention strategies, youth partnerships faced substantially more participation difficulties than adult partnerships. Strategies that youth partnerships can use to manage these challenges, such as creative scheduling and increasing opportunities for youth to help others directly, are discussed.

The structure of social exchange in self-help support groups: development of a measure.

Self-help support groups are indigenous community resources designed to help people manage a variety of personal challenges, from alcohol abuse to xeroderma pigmentosum. The social exchanges that occur during group meetings are central to understanding how people benefit from participation. This paper examines the different types of social exchange behaviors that occur during meetings, using two studies to develop empirically distinct scales that reliably measure theoretically important types of exchange. Resource theory informed the initial measurement development efforts. Exploratory factor analyses from the first study led to revisions in the factor structure of the social exchange scales. The revised measure captured the exchange of emotional support, experiential information, humor, unwanted behaviors, and exchanges outside meetings. Confirmatory factor analyses from a follow-up study with a different sample of self-help support groups provided good model fit, suggesting the revised structure accurately represented the data. Further, the scales demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with related constructs. Future research can use the scales to identify aspects of social exchange that are most important in improving health outcomes among self-help support group participants. Groups can use the scales in practice to celebrate strengths and address weaknesses in their social exchange dynamics.

Supporting Peer Support Workers and Their Supervisors: Cluster-Randomized Trial Evaluating a Systems-Level Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: Peer support workers are a substantial and growing part of the mental health workforce. Because little research has investigated how to effectively support and supervise peer support workers, the authors evaluated the efficacy of a training program to strengthen the peer support workforce and the supervision of its workers. METHODS: Mental health services sites with peer support workers and supervisors in Los Angeles County were recruited for this cluster-randomized trial and 10-month follow-up. Of 348 peer support workers and 143 supervisors at 85 sites, 251 (72%) peer support workers and 115 (80%) supervisors completed baseline surveys. SHARE! the Self-Help And Recovery Exchange, a peer-run organization, delivered four training sessions on strategies to reduce stigma and to build an effective peer workforce, cultural competence, and a trauma-informed developmental model of supervision. Primary outcomes were peer-supportive organizational climate, mental health stigma, and peer support worker recovery. RESULTS: Intention-to-treat analyses indicated that sites receiving the training had significantly higher scores on peer-supportive organizational climate (Cohen's d=0.35, 95% CI=0.02-0.68, p=0.04) relative to sites not receiving the training. No significant differences were found between the two conditions for mental health stigma (Cohen's d=0.04) or peer support worker recovery (Cohen's d=0.14). CONCLUSIONS: The training had no impact on mental health stigma or peer support worker recovery. However, the findings suggest that the training increased the value organizations gave to peer support work, which may help improve peer support worker retention and outcomes among those served. Efforts to incorporate principles of the training into practice may strengthen outcomes.

Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) network: first-person accounts in a community-university partnership.

Community research and action projects undertaken by community-university partnerships can lead to contextually appropriate and sustainable community improvements in rural and urban localities. However, effective implementation is challenging and prone to failure when poorly executed. The current paper seeks to inform rural community-university partnership practice through consideration of first-person accounts from five stakeholders in the Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) Network. The REACH Network is a unique community-university partnership aimed at improving rural health services by identifying, implementing, and evaluating innovative health interventions delivered by local caregivers. The first-person accounts provide an insider's perspective on the nature of collaboration. The unique perspectives identify three critical challenges facing the REACH Network: trust, coordination, and sustainability. Through consideration of the challenges, we identified several strategies for success. We hope readers can learn their own lessons when considering the details of our partnership's efforts to improve the delivery infrastructure for rural healthcare.

Nutrition and Health Programming and Outreach in Grocery Retail Settings: A Community Coalition in Action.

Grocery stores can provide a conducive environment for interventions targeting healthy eating and access to health services, particularly in low-income communities. A wide array of organizations deliver nutrition and related programs in community settings, but rarely in a coordinated fashion. Collaboration of local health promotion organizations with grocery stores could increase consumers' access to and selection of healthy foods and related services. This evaluation of the In-Store Programming and Outreach Coalition (IPOC) uses thematic analysis of first-person accounts from coalition members. To our knowledge, this is the first study of such a coalition. We present perspectives from six stakeholders about the IPOC strengths, challenges, and recommendations for strengthening the delivery of in-store interventions. Themes identified include partnership, increased client reach and cross-referrals, conflicting work schedules, leadership, and recommendations to identify coalition leaders and expand services to other grocery stores. We conclude that grocery stores can offer a suitable setting for programming and community outreach through coalitions.

Relating engagement to outcomes in prevention: the case of a parenting program for couples.

Analyses of program engagement can provide critical insight into how program involvement leads to outcomes. This study examines the relation between participant engagement and program outcomes in Family Foundations (FF), a universal preventive intervention designed to help couples manage the transition to parenthood by improving coparenting relationship quality. Previous intent-to-treat outcome analyses from a randomized trial indicate FF improves parental adjustment, interparental relationships, and parenting. Analyses for the current study use the same sample, and yield statistically reliable relations between participant engagement and interparental relationships but not parental adjustment or parenting. Discussion considers implications for FF and the difficulties researchers face when examining the relation between engagement and outcomes in preventive interventions.

Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience and Mental Health in a Hispanic Community.

This study explores the relations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), mental health and resilience among Hispanic adults living in the United States - Mexico Border region. Numerous studies have investigated the negative impact of ACEs on adult mental health, but the concept of resilience as a protective factor for mental health in the Hispanic communities has limited consideration in ACE treatment interventions. The proposed study addresses this gap in knowledge by investigating relations between ACEs, resilience, and mental health. An online survey was administered to 221 university students to assess the relationship between ACEs, mental distress and resilience. Using hierarchical linear regression, three models were estimated. First, including demographics, second including ACEs and low resilience, followed by the interaction of ACEs and resilience. Analyses indicate that ACEs were associated with mental distress (B = 1.02, 95% CI 0.37 - 1.68, p < 0.01) and low resilience was associated with mental distress (B = 5.37, 95% CI 3.15 - 7.59, p < .01). The interaction between ACEs and low resilience was also related to mental distress (B = 1.32, 95% CI 0.17 - 2.47, p = 0.03), indicating that ACEs had a larger association with mental distress among respondents with low resilience. Findings highlight the importance of the direct association between resilience and mental distress, along with the moderating influence of resilience on the relation between ACEs and mental health. Interventions promoting resilience may be effective in reducing mental distress, especially among individuals with a history of ACEs.

Initial conditions and functioning over time among community coalitions.

Developing operationally strong community coalitions is critical to actualizing their potential for public health improvement. The purpose of this study was to measure how substance use prevention coalitions in Mexico functioned across their first 1.5 years, and to test associations between initial community contextual factors and subsequent coalition functioning and outcomes. Members of 19 coalitions participated in three waves of surveys about coalition context and functioning. We used paired t-tests to assess changes in coalition functioning and outcomes. Regression models estimated associations between coalition functioning and outcomes and initial community context. Among coalition functioning factors, over coalitions' first 1.5 years, member engagement increased, as did coordinator skill and participatory leadership style. Two initial community context factors - community support for prevention and community champions - predicted several measures of process competence, but only community champions predicted perceived community improvement. Thus, community champions may play a pivotal role in later coalition success. The observed increases in member engagement and process competence may support subsequent coalition sustainability, a crucial component to realizing their potential impact on public health.

Predictors of e-cigarette initiation and use among middle school youth in a low-income predominantly Hispanic community.

Introduction: E-cigarette use among middle and high school youth increased from 2. 5 million in 2014 to 9.2 million in 2019, becoming the most common tobacco product used among youth. Hispanic youth, the largest ethnic minority in the United States, have higher rates of tobacco use, including e-cigarettes, than non-Hispanics. Identifying factors that put youth at risk for future e-cigarette use is vital to focusing prevention efforts. Informed by social cognitive theory, this study identifies predictors of e-cigarette uptake among e-cigarette naïve youth in a predominantly low-income Hispanic community. Methods: 1,249 students (6-8th grades) from two middle schools in El Paso, Texas consented to participate in this longitudinal survey during the 2016-2017 school year. The study sample for analysis was restricted to e-cigarette naïve students (n = 862). Outcome measures were e-cigarette initiation and current use at follow-up. Logistic regression models tested six hypotheses about predictors of e-cigarette initiation and current use: (1) intention, (2) outcome expectations, (3) knowledge, (4) friendship network exposure, (5) normative beliefs, and (6) social acceptability. Results: Among e-cigarette naïve students at baseline, 8% (n = 71) reported initiation at follow-up; of these, 3% (n = 23) reported current use. Significant predictors of initiation were intention (AOR = 2.46; 95% CI 1.69-3.59; p < 0.001), outcome expectations (AOR = 1.73; 95% CI 1.14-2.61; p = 0.009), friendship network exposure (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.11-2.11; p =0.01), normative beliefs (AOR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.47-3.08; p < 0.001), and social acceptability (AOR = 1.91; 95% CI 1.28-2.85; p = 0.002). Significant predictors of current use were intention (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI 1.07-3.69; p = 0.03) and friendship network exposure (AOR = 1.69; 95% CI 1.06-2.70; p = 0.03). Conclusions: With the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes, age appropriate and culturally sensitive prevention strategies tailored at altering these predictive factors are essential in preventing future e-cigarette use.