Electronic cigarette use outcome expectancies among college students

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health
• Psychology

Background:

• E-cigarette use outcome expectancies are not well understood.
• Research on demographic and e-cigarette use variables is limited.
• Self-report items were developed to assess e-cigarette outcome expectancies in college students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine dimensions of e-cigarette use expectancies.
• To examine associations between expectancies and e-cigarette use.
• To investigate relationships with e-cigarette use susceptibility.

Main Methods:

• Collected self-report data from 307 multiethnic college students in Hawaii.
• Utilized exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.
• Employed regression analyses to assess associations.

Main Results:

• Identified 7 factors of e-cigarette expectancies (3 positive, 4 negative).
• Current smoking status associated with positive and negative expectancies.
• Positive expectancies linked to higher past-30-day use and future intentions.
• Negative expectancies (except addiction concern) linked to lower past-30-day use.

Conclusions:

• E-cigarette outcome expectancies predict use and susceptibility in young adults.
• Findings have implications for future research on e-cigarette use.
• Understanding expectancies can inform prevention and intervention strategies.