The Power of Peer Pressure in Youth Vaping: How Friends Shape Habits

Key Points:

• Peer influence is often intense during the teen years

• Friends play a major role in whether teens start or continue vaping

• Learning how to resist peer pressure can help prevent vaping
  

Peer pressure can be a powerful force during adolescence, influencing young people to engage in risky behaviors like vaping. Approximately 1.63 million U.S. middle and high school students currently use e-cigarettes – and one study found that nearly 60% of young vapers get their first e-cigarette from a friend. Understanding how friends shape behaviors can help us guide teens toward healthier choices.

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Friends Are a Major Factor Research shows that friends are often the main reason teens try vaping. A study revealed that teens got their first e-cigarette from a friend and frequently vaped with their friends the first time. In another study, vaping started during socializing, occurring when “hanging out”. It was described as “something to do with friends”. In addition, teens said friends serve as a source of vaping supplies, making it easier for others to join in.

How Social Norms Drive Youth Behavior

Social norms are the unwritten rules of beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that are considered acceptable in a particular social group. Two types of norms influence vaping: descriptive norms (how much and how often teens think their peers are vaping) and injunctive norms (how much teens believe their peers approve of vaping). Both types of norms can predict vaping initiation and frequency.

For example, in a study of 3,285 high school students, 26.7% reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. Their perceptions of their peers’ habits shaped their vaping behavior. The more frequently these students believed their classmates used e-cigarettes, the more likely they were to report past 30-day e-cigarette use. Also, the more they perceived that their peers approved of e-cigarette use, the more likely they were to report past 30-day use as well.

Resisting Peer Pressure to Vape

Resistance to peer influence can play a pivotal role in protecting youth from vaping. One study examined the relationship between resistance to peer influence and vaping behavior among teens aged 15 and 17. The findings revealed that:

• Teens who successfully resisted peer pressure were more likely to avoid vaping nicotine and marijuana

• Teens who believed their friends vaped – rather than their classmates – were less likely to abstain and tended to vape more frequently

• Resistance to peer influence had no significant difference in the frequency of vaping among those who vaped

The lead researcher noted that the difference between friends and classmates comes down to the participant’s perception. Teens define friends in a more personal way than they do classmates, who might be people they barely know. Friends generally have a greater impact on decision-making than classmates.

The Bottom Line

Strengthening teens’ abilities to resist peer influence, especially during late adolescence, could be a promising strategy for preventing youth vaping.

By Linda Antinoro

Reviewed by Cindy Bistany, DHSc

References:

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