Assessing Adolescent Vaping Norms and Perceptions in a Statewide Multi-Community Project.

Background: Adolescent e-cigarette use has increased dramatically in recent years and is quickly becoming a serious public health issue. While studies have identified the influence of social norms on the use of traditional cigarettes, few have examined these factors in the context of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. Objective: The goal of this study was to examine social norms predictors of past 30-day e-cigarette use among high school students in 10 communities located in Minnesota. Results: In our sample (N = 3,285), students who believe most students in their school vape daily are more likely to have vaped in the past 30 days than those who believe most students vape weekly or less frequently. Further, students were likely to have used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days if they perceived that most students approved of vaping (i.e., they disagreed with the statement that, "vaping is not a good thing for anyone their age to do"). Findings from this study highlight social norms related to perceptions that increase the likelihood of past 30-day e-cigarette use. Conclusions: Results from this study lend themselves to norms-based prevention science strategies that are critical to reducing e-cigarette use among high school students.

Associations Between Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Smoking and Alcohol Use Behaviors in a Large Statewide Sample.

Childhood experiences are linked to myriad indices of health and wellbeing in adulthood, including substance use behaviors. Increasingly, there has been a paradigm shift in prevention science focused on healthy outcomes of positive experiences. The current study examined associations between retrospective reports of positive childhood experiences and patterns of smoking and alcohol use in adulthood. Data were from the 2019 Montana Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey (N = 6,495; Mage = 55.9 years; 49% male as assigned at birth). Outcomes examined with regard to positive childhood experiences included lifetime smoking (> 100 cigarettes), current smoking status, and past-month alcohol use indices (i.e., total drinks, typical quantity, heavy episodic drinking, and peak drinking occasion). Positive childhood experience scores were inversely associated with both smoking outcomes (AORs = 0.66 and 0.61). Curiously, positive childhood experiences were positively associated with any past-month alcohol use (AOR = 1.12), but among respondents who did use alcohol in the past month, positive childhood experiences were inversely associated with all indices of alcohol use patterns: total drinks (CR = 0.94), drinks per occasion (CR = 0.95), heavy episodic occasions (AOR = 0.91), and peak drinking (AOR = 0.95). Findings generally indicated that positive childhood experiences may be protective against cigarette and high-risk alcohol use behaviors in adulthood. Item-by-item analyses identified specific childhood experiences that may be particularly protective, which may inform prevention efforts and policy (prevention recommendations are discussed below).

Normative misperceptions of peer seat belt use among high school students and their relationship to personal seat belt use.

OBJECTIVES: This research examined gender-specific perceptions of peer seat belt use norms among high school students and their relationship with one's own seat belt use. We expected that students would underestimate the seat belt use of their peers and that these perceptions would be positively associated with their own seat belt use. METHODS: High school students from 4 schools (N = 3348; 52% male) completed measures assessing perceived seat belt use and personal seat belt use. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that students perceived that others engaged in less seat belt use than they do and that perceived norms were positively associated with one's own seat belt use. CONCLUSIONS: Peer influences are a strong predictor of behavior, especially among adolescents. Ironically, adolescents' behaviors are often influenced by inaccurate perceptions of their peers. This research establishes the presence of a misperception related to seat belt use and suggests that misperception is associated with own behaviors. This research provides a foundation for social norms-based interventions designed to increase seat belt use by correcting normative misperceptions among adolescents.

Effectiveness of social norms media marketing in reducing drinking and driving: A statewide campaign.

This research evaluated the efficacy of a high-intensity social norms media marketing campaign aimed at correcting normative misperceptions and reducing the prevalence of drinking and driving among 21-to-34-year-olds in Montana. A quasi-experimental design was used, such that regions of Montana were assigned to one of three experimental groups: social norms media marketing campaign, buffer, and control. Four random samples of Montanans between the ages of 21 and 34 were assessed at four time points over 18 months via phone surveys. Findings suggest that the social norms media campaign was successful at exposing the targeted population to social norms messages in the counties within the intervention region. Moreover, results demonstrate the campaign reduced normative misperceptions, increased use of designated drivers, and decreased drinking and driving among those young adults in counties within the intervention region. Social norms media marketing can be effective at changing drinking-related behaviors at the population level. This research provides a model for utilizing social norms media marketing to address other behaviors related to public health.