Psychological predictors of vaping uptake among non-smokers: A longitudinal investigation of New Zealand adults.

INTRODUCTION: Demographic and health factors are known to predict vaping. Less is known about psychological predictors of vaping uptake, particularly among non-smoking adults using longitudinal designs. We aimed to model how psychological factors related to personality and mental health predicted the likelihood of vaping uptake over time in non-smoking adults ages 18+ using longitudinal data. METHODS: Longitudinal regression models utilised data from the 2018-2020 waves of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study to assess how the Big Five personality traits, mental distress and self-control predicted who began vaping over time among non-users (non-vapers and non-smokers), controlling for gender, age, ethnicity and economic deprivation. RESULTS: Analyses included 36,309 adults overall (ages 18 to 99; M = 51.0). The number of non-users who transitioned into current vaping was small (transitioned from 2018 to 2019, n = 147; 0.48%; 2019 to 2020, n = 189, 0.63%). Fully adjusted models showed that adults with higher mental distress (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.88), lower self-control (aOR 0.79; 95% CI 0.69-0.89) and higher extraversion (aOR 1.09; 95% CI 1.06-1.13) were more likely to begin vaping at the next time point compared to adults who remained non-users. Higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness also predicted vaping uptake in initial models, but inclusion of mental distress and self-control superseded these traits. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Psychological factors related to mental distress, impulse control and sociability predicted who was more likely to begin vaping as non-smoking adults. Harm prevention interventions could target these factors to reduce vaping uptake in non-smokers.

Corrigendum: Psychological and Demographic Predictors of Vaping and Vaping Susceptibility in Young Adults.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.659206.].

Psychological and Demographic Predictors of Vaping and Vaping Susceptibility in Young Adults.

BACKGROUND: The use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), also known as vaping, is becoming popular among young adults. Few studies have explored the psychological factors that predict ENDS use and susceptibility in young adults, in addition to known demographic predictors. METHOD: In a cross-sectional survey design, 521 young adults (37% male), ages 18-25 from the United States, were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) in 2019, to answer an online survey measuring demographic characteristics and psychological characteristics related to mental health and the Big Five personality traits. The survey also included measures of ENDS ever-use, current use, and susceptibility (never users open to trying ENDS), which we predicted from the demographic and psychological measures using independent and multiple binary logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Of those surveyed (n = 521), 282 (54.1%) were ENDS ever-users, 93 (17.9%) were current ENDS users, and 61 (11.7%) were ENDS susceptible; 62 (11.9%) were current smokers. Demographically, young adults lower in adulthood socioeconomic-status (SES), not pursuing education further than high school, and current smokers were more likely to be ENDS users. Psychologically, young adults higher in anxiety and lower in conscientiousness more likely to have ever-used ENDS. Lower conscientiousness further predicted current ENDS use and ENDS susceptibility. CONCLUSION: In this sample of MTurk workers, young adults with experience in vaping were more demographically and psychologically vulnerable than young adults with no experience in vaping. Young adults interested in vaping, but without prior experience, were less conscientious than their non-interested peers. Interventions to target vaping use should focus on economically disadvantaged young adults and those lower in conscientiousness.