Nicotine vaping for relaxation and coping: Race/ethnicity differences and social connectedness mechanisms.

The current study examined race- and ethnicity-based differences in the reasons that youth report for vaping, with an emphasis on understanding the relationship between race/ethnicity and vaping for relaxation and stress/anxiety coping. This work also sought to go beyond examining race-based differences as a cause of tobacco-use disparities by assessing social connectedness factors that mediate relationships between race/ethnicity and vaping for relaxation and coping. Research questions were tested using data from the 2019-2020 California Student Tobacco Survey, a representative school-based survey of 10th and 12th grade public school students throughout schools in California. Overall, 7.78% of the sample reported using nicotine vapes in the past 30 days. The final sample included 11,112 high school student current vape users. The most important reason that youth vaped was for relaxation and stress/anxiety coping, with racial and ethnic minorities most likely to report this vaping motivation. Analyses of the structural mechanisms underlying the relationship between race/ethnicity and vaping reasons showed that minority youth reported lower school, peer, and family connectedness when compared to White youth. Lower school and family connectedness were in turn correlated with being motivated to vape to relax or relieve stress and anxiety, and lower overall mental health. Findings imply that future intervention efforts might profitably focus on reducing stressors associated with relaxation and stress/anxiety coping motivations and highlight the importance of connectedness for indirectly decreasing vape use risk by improving negative mood and mental health.

Vaping identity in adolescent e-cigarette users: A comparison of norms, attitudes, and behaviors.

INTRODUCTION: Using the tenets underlying social identity theory and the theory of planned behavior, the current study compared the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of e-cigarette users that reported vaping as self-defining ("vapers") compared to users that denied vaping was central to their identity ("non-vapers"). METHOD: Secondary analyses of data from the 2017-2018 California Student Tobacco Survey were utilized. A weighted, multivariable regression model (N = 82,217) compared the demographic characteristics, beliefs, and behaviors of vapers and non-vapers. A path analytic model examined whether norms and attitudes mediated the relationship between vaper identity and use behavior. RESULTS: Self-identified sexual and/or gender minority youth were more likely to identify as vapers compared to heterosexual and cisgender respondents. Youth that identified as vapers viewed e-cigarette use as more normative, held more favorable attitudes (i.e., lower harm beliefs), used e-cigarettes more frequently and in greater quantities, were more likely to use fruit and mint flavored e-cigarettes, and were more likely to acquire e-cigarettes from commercial sellers (i.e., vape/tobacco shops; all p < 0.05). Additionally, descriptive norms and attitudes mediated the relationship between vaper identity and use frequency/quantity. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in e-cigarette beliefs and behaviors were found for youth e-cigarette users that perceived vaping as self-defining versus those that did not view vaping as part of their self-concept. Future studies are needed to examine causal directionality between identity, norms, attitudes, and behavior. Tobacco control efforts might use these findings to further denormalize vaping using evidence-based media campaigns and policy implementation.