Influence of Peer Pressure Stress and Impulsivity on Adolescent Vaping
Keywords:
Adolescent vaping, Health literacy, Peer influence, Stress, Social mediaAbstract
Objective: To explore how peer pressure, perceived stress, impulsivity, risk perception, and social media exposure affect adolescent vaping behaviour, with health literacy as a mediator.
Methods: A survey and digital tracking study of Asian adolescents aged 2024–2025 and analyzed using SPSS and SEM.
Results: Peer influence, perceived stress, impulsivity, and social media were all positively associated with adolescent vaping behaviours. Risk perception and health literacy were negatively associated with vaping. The mediation analyses confirmed that in its protective function health literacy partly mediated the relation from psychosocial predictors to e-cigarette use. Behavioural patterns, peer dynamics, and the role of a digital environment were observed in the longitudinal data, mediating the stability over time and the generalization of findings across several time points.
Novelty: The study makes an original contribution by combining the psychosocial, cognitive, and digital determinants of adolescent vaping phenomenon and emphasizes health literacy as a mediator a combination hitherto little studied especially among Asian populations.
Implications for Research: Findings inform evidence-based treatments that focus on improving health literacy, managing peer influences, and reducing stress and exposure to social media. Implications. The results provide a policy context and guidance for future health promotion strategies for adolescents at various Asian settings.
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