Associations Between Family and Peer E-cigarette Use With Adolescent Tobacco and Marijuana Usage: A
Friday, May 21, 2021
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Michael
Coleman, Candice D Donaldson, William D Crano, James R Pike, Alan W Stacy.
Associations Between
Family and Peer E-cigarette Use With Adolescent Tobacco and Marijuana Usage: A
Longitudinal Path Analytic Approach.
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 23, Issue 5, May 2021, Pages 849–855, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa204.
Introduction. Research
indicates a link between adolescent e-cigarette use and combustible tobacco
cigarette (CTC) initiation, and recent studies suggest their connection with
marijuana uptake. Our 3-year longitudinal cohort study investigated the
implications of adolescent, peer, and family e-cigarette use with adolescents’
expectations and willingness to initiate CTC use, and subsequent CTC and
marijuana use.
Aims and Methods. Relationships
were examined in a secondary analysis of a 3-year longitudinal cohort subsample
involving adolescents enrolled in alternative California high schools (N =
1025). Analyses examined responses over three yearly observations. Family,
peer, and respondents’ e-cigarette use, respondents’ positive cigarette
expectancies and willingness to use CTCs were assessed in the study’s first
year (T1). CTC use in the survey’s second year (T2) and marijuana use in the
third year (T3) were assessed via path analysis.
Results. Respondents
reporting at least one family member or peer using e-cigarettes were more
likely to use e-cigarettes at T1 than those whose peers/family members did not.
They reported more positive expectancies about CTCs and greater willingness to
initiate use. These variables predicted CTC use at T2, which directly
anticipated marijuana use in the survey’s third year (T3), as did adolescents’
use of e-cigarettes at T1. All model relations were statistically significant.
Conclusions. Analysis
demonstrated the strong association of family members’ and peers’ behaviors
with adolescent e-cigarette use, and the temporal precedence of e-cigarette use
with subsequent CTC and marijuana uptake. The predictive implications of
e-cigarettes for other dangerous substance use should be examined in future
prevention campaigns.
Implications.
The presented study expands upon existing literature connecting adolescent
e-cigarette use and later CTC and marijuana use. The findings indicate the
significant implications of exposure to e-cigarette use by parents and peers
and demonstrate in a longitudinal 4-year panel survey the direct and indirect
predictive implications of e-cigarette use for CTC and marijuana uptake. The
research illustrates the utility of programs and campaigns that target peer and
family groups to maximize impacts on adolescent willingness to try CTCs,
positive expectancies, and possible onset of CTC and marijuana use.
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