“You have to vape to make it through”: E-cigarette Outcome Expectancies among Youth and Parents.

Introduction:
This article reports the findings of a qualitative study examining the outcome expectancies of e-cigarette use among middle and high school students and parents. The study was conducted in the context of the EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury) outbreak and the JUUL era, a time when e-cigarette use among youth has reached epidemic levels. The study aimed to fill gaps in the research literature and provide insights into the motivational factors driving e-cigarette use among youth.

Key Points:

* The study conducted 12 focus groups with 63 middle and high school students and 27 parents.
* Participants discussed reasons for e-cigarette use, bad and good things that might happen to a person who vapes, situations in which a young person might decide to use these products, and who would approve and disapprove of their use of e-cigarettes.
* The outcome expectancies for e-cigarette use that students and parents listed can be broadly divided into three categories: psychoactive/sensory, social, and health outcomes.
* Psychoactive/sensory outcome expectancies included stress relief, taste and flavors, and the buzz or high from nicotine.
* Social outcome expectancies included peer influence, social acceptance, and fitting in with certain groups.
* Health outcome expectancies included both positive and negative consequences, such as improved lung function and lung disease.
* Parents were concerned about the effects of e-cigarette use on the developing brain and the potential for addiction.
* The study suggests that regulations and public communication campaigns can counteract positive outcome expectancies (such as flavor regulation and providing stress reduction tips) and capitalize on negative ones (such as communicating negative health outcomes) to decrease youth e-cigarette use.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of understanding the motivations and outcome expectancies of e-cigarette use among youth. The findings suggest that regulations and public communication campaigns can be effective in decreasing youth e-cigarette use by counteracting positive outcome expectancies and capitalizing on negative ones. Additionally, the study emphasizes the need for further research in this area to inform policy and prevention efforts.

Fairman RT, Weaver SR, Akani BC, Dixon K, Popova L. “You have to vape to make it through”: E-cigarette Outcome Expectancies among Youth and Parents. American journal of health behavior. 2021;45(5):933-946. doi:10.5993/AJHB.45.5.13