There is limited understanding of mechanisms underpinning the relationship between impulsivity and nicotine vaping. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature by examining deviant peer association as a mediator of this relationship. All five available waves of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study were analyzed (N = 11,880). This is a United States general population sample with participants of ages 8-10 at baseline. Generalized structural equation modeling is used to examine the direct effects of impulsivity on vaping risk and the indirect effect impulsivity running through deviant peer association. Results indicate that lower impulse control/higher impulsivity significantly predicts greater log-odds of vaping at follow-up (Coefficient = .115; p < .003). Greater deviant peer association significantly mediates this relationship (Coefficient = .023; p < .001; 95% confidence interval = .012---.033), accounting for about 15% of the direct effect of impulsivity on vaping. Prevention programming should focus on identifying youth with impulsivity issues and reducing their affiliation with deviant peers.
AdebisiY. A.BafailD. A.OniO. E. (2024). Prevalence, demographic, socio-economic, and lifestyle factors associated with cigarette, e-cigarette, and dual use: evidence from the 2017–2021 Scottish Health Survey. Internal and Emergency Medicine, 19(8), 2151–2165.
2.
AkersR. L. (1973). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach. Wadsworth Publishing Company.
3.
BinghamC. R.FitzgeraldH. E.ZuckerR. A. (1995). Peer behavior profile/peer activities questionnaire. Unpublished questionnaire. East Lansing. Department of Psychology, Michigan State University.
4.
BonnerE.ChangY.ChristieE.ColvinV.CunninghamB.ElsonD.TanguayR. L. (2021). The chemistry and toxicology of vaping. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 225, Article 107837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2021.107837
5.
CambronC. (2023). Racial/Ethnic differences in vaping product use among youth: A state-level analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), 5729. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095729
6.
ChapmanS. L. C.WuL. T. (2014). E-cigarette prevalence and correlates of use among adolescents versus adults: A review and comparison. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 54, 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.03.005
7.
ChilcoatH. D.AnthonyJ. C. (1996). Impact of parent monitoring on initiation of drug use through late childhood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(1), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199601000-00017
8.
ConnerT. S.TeahG. E.SibleyC. G.TurnerR. M.ScarfD.MasonA. (2024). Psychological predictors of vaping uptake among non‐smokers: A longitudinal investigation of New Zealand adults. Drug and Alcohol Review, 43(5), 1132–1142. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13822
9.
CoomberR.MoyleL. (2014). Beyond drug dealing: Developing and extending the concept of ‘social supply’of illicit drugs to ‘minimally commercial supply. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 21(2), 157–164. https://doi.org/10.3109/09687637.2013.798265
10.
CoomberR.MoyleL.SouthN. (2016). The normalisation of drug supply: The social supply of drugs as the “other side” of the history of normalisation. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 23(3), 255–263. https://doi.org/10.3109/09687637.2015.1110565
11.
DavisD. R.BoldK. W.MoreanM. E.KongG.JacksonA.SimonP.Krishnan-SarinS. (2022). Association of youth impulsivity and use of e-cigarette devices, flavors, and frequency of use. Addictive Behaviors, 134(1), Article 107386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107386
12.
DeVitoE. E.SternE.SzpilzingerM.PetersenN.PangR. D.WeinbergerA. H. (2025). Sex and gender in relation to use of e-cigarette product characteristics in United States datasets: A systematic review. Nicotine & Tobacco Research: Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 4, ntaf092. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaf092
13.
FoxB. (2017). It’s nature and nurture: Integrating biology and genetics into the social learning theory of criminal behavior. Journal of Criminal Justice, 49, 22–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2017.01.003
14.
GallagherK. M.UpdegraffJ. A. (2012). Health message framing effects on attitudes, intentions, and behavior: A meta-analytic review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 43(1), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-011-9308-7
15.
GattiU.TremblayR. E.VitaroF. (2009). Iatrogenic effect of juvenile justice. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 50(8), 991–998. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02057.x
16.
GeeraertJ.RochaL. E.VandeviverC. (2024). The impact of violent behavior on co-offender selection: Evidence of behavioral homophily. Journal of Criminal Justice, 94, Article 102259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102259
17.
GottfredsonM. R.HirschiT (1990). A general theory of crime. Reading/Stanford University Press.
18.
HammondD.ReidJ. L. (2025). Trends in vaping and nicotine product use among youth in Canada, England and the USA between 2017 and 2022: Evidence to inform policy. Tobacco Control.
19.
HammondD.RynardV. L.ReidJ. L. (2020). Changes in prevalence of vaping among youths in the United States, Canada, and England from 2017 to 2019. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(8), 797–800. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0901
20.
HanafinJ.SundayS.ClancyL. (2021). Friends and family matter Most: A trend analysis of increasing e-cigarette use among Irish teenagers and socio-demographic, personal, peer and familial associations. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12113-9
21.
HanewinkelR.IsenseeB. (2015). Risk factors for e-cigarette, conventional cigarette, and dual use in German adolescents: A cohort study. Preventive Medicine, 74, 59–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.03.006
22.
HeinrichsN. (2006). The effects of two different incentives on recruitment rates of families into a prevention program. Journal of Primary Prevention, 27(4), 345–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-006-0038-8
23.
HigginsG. E.KirchnerE. E.RickettsM. L.MarcumC. D. (2013). Impulsivity and offending from childhood to young adulthood in the United States: A developmental trajectory analysis. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 8(2), 101518.
24.
HoffmannJ. P. (2024). Self-control, peers, and adolescent substance use: An international analysis. Journal of Substance Use, 29(2), 246–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2022.2148581
25.
IntraviaJ.VitoA. G.RocheleauG. C. (2022). Low self-control and vaping: The mediating role of health and risk perceptions. Substance Use & Misuse, 57(6), 956–966. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2022.2052102
26.
JacksonS. E.BrownJ.Tattan‐BirchH.JarvisM. J. (2025). Changing patterns of nicotine product use and nicotine dependence among United States high‐school students: The national youth tobacco survey, 2014–2023. Addiction.
27.
JaynesC. M.Moule JrR. K.HubbellJ. T.SantosM. R. (2022). Impulsivity or discounting? Evaluating the influence of individual differences in temporal orientation on offending. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 38(4), 831–859. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-021-09518-5
28.
KendlerK. S.JacobsonK. C.GardnerC. O.GillespieN.AggenS. A.PrescottC. A. (2007). Creating a social world: A developmental twin study of peer-group deviance. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64(8), 958–965. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.64.8.958
29.
LadisB.TruccoE. M.HuangH.ThomlisonB.FavaN. M. (2021). Longitudinal effects of peer, school, and parenting contexts on substance use initiation in middle adolescence. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 18(5), 566–584. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2021.1932660
30.
LanzaH. I.MotlaghG.OrozcoM. (2020). E-cigarette use among young adults: A latent class analysis examining co-use and correlates of nicotine vaping. Addictive Behaviors, 110(1), Article 106528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106528
31.
MartinasekM. P.WheldonC. W.ParsonsC. A.BellL. A.LipskiB. K. (2021). Understanding adverse childhood experiences as predictors of cigarette and e-cigarette use. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 60(6), 737–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.01.004
32.
MoreanM. E.LipshieN.JosephsonM.FosterD. (2017). Predictors of adult e-cigarette users vaporizing cannabis using e-cigarettes and vape-pens. Substance Use & Misuse, 52(8), 974–981. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2016.1268162
33.
ParkinsonB.MeacockR.SuttonM.FicheraE.MillsN.ShorterG. W.BowerP. (2019). Designing and using incentives to support recruitment and retention in clinical trials: A scoping review and a checklist for design. Trials, 20(1), 624. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-3710-z
34.
PentzM. A.ShinH.RiggsN.UngerJ. B.CollisonK. L.ChouC. P. (2015). Parent, peer, and executive function relationships to early adolescent e-cigarette use: A substance use pathway?Addictive Behaviors, 42, 73–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.10.040
35.
PreacherK. J.HayesA. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/brm.40.3.879
36.
Puig-AntichJ.RyanN. (1986). Kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia: Western Psychiatric Institute.
37.
RaganD. T.OsgoodD. W.KreagerD. A. (2023). Impulsivity, peers, and delinquency: A dynamic social network approach. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 39(3), 735–768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-022-09547-8
38.
RichmondA. D.LaursenB.StattinH. (2019). Homophily in delinquent behavior: The rise and fall of friend similarity across adolescence. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 43(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025418767058
39.
RocheleauG. C.VitoA. G.IntraviaJ. (2020). Peers, perceptions, and e-cigarettes: A social learning approach to explaining e-cigarette use among youth. Journal of Drug Issues, 50(4), 472–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042620921351
40.
RokvenJ. J.TolsmaJ.RuiterS.KraaykampG. (2016). Like two peas in a pod? Explaining friendship selection processes related to victimization and offending. European Journal of Criminology, 13(2), 231–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370815617186
41.
RothmanA. J.SaloveyP.AntoneC.KeoughK.MartinC. D. (1993). The influence of message framing on intentions to perform health behaviors. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 29(5), 408–433. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.1993.1019
42.
RowanZ. R.FineA.SteinbergL.FrickP. J.CauffmanE. (2023). Labeling effects of initial juvenile justice system processing decision on youth interpersonal ties. Criminology, 61(4), 731–757. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12348
43.
SaloveyP.SchneiderT. R.ApanovitchA. M. (2002). Message framing in the prevention and early detection of illness. The persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice, 23(9), 391–406.
44.
SharapovaS.Reyes-GuzmanC.SinghT.PhillipsE.MarynakK. L.AgakuI. (2020). Age of tobacco use initiation and association with current use and nicotine dependence among US middle and high school students, 2014–2016. Tobacco Control, 29(1), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054593
45.
Spencer-SmithM.AndersonV. (2009). Healthy and abnormal development of the prefrontal cortex. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 12(5), 279–297. https://doi.org/10.3109/17518420903090701
46.
SteinbergL. (2010). A dual systems model of adolescent risk‐taking. Developmental Psychobiology: The Journal of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, 52(3), 216–224.
47.
SteinbergL.AlbertD.CauffmanE.BanichM.GrahamS.WoolardJ. (2008). Age differences in sensation seeking and impulsivity as indexed by behavior and self-report: evidence for a dual systems model. Developmental psychology, 44(6), 1764.
48.
SzokoN.RagavanM. I.KhetarpalS. K.ChuK. H.CulybaA. J. (2021). Protective factors against vaping and other tobacco use. Pediatrics, 148(2), e2020048066. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-048066
49.
TaylorM.PotterG. R. (2013). From “social supply” to “real dealing” drift, friendship, and trust in drug-dealing careers. Journal of Drug Issues, 43(4), 392–406. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042612474974
50.
TehraniH.RajabiA.Ghelichi-GhojoghM.NejatianM.JafariA. (2022). The prevalence of electronic cigarettes vaping globally: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Public Health, 80(1), 240. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00998-w
51.
TraboulsiH.CherianM.Abou RjeiliM.PreterotiM.BourbeauJ.SmithB. M.BagloleC. J. (2020). Inhalation toxicology of vaping products and implications for pulmonary health. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(10), 3495. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21103495
52.
VandellenM. R.MeiselM. K.LynchB. P. (2017). Dynamics of self-control in egocentric social networks. Personality and Individual Differences, 106, 196–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.010
53.
Van RyzinM. J.DishionT. J. (2014). Adolescent deviant peer clustering as an amplifying mechanism underlying the progression from early substance use to late adolescent dependence. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 55(10), 1153–1161. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12211
WeermanF. M.BijleveldC. C. (2007). Birds of different feathers: School networks of serious delinquent, minor delinquent and non-delinquent boys and girls. European Journal of Criminology, 4(4), 357–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370807080718
56.
WhitesideS. P.LynamD. R.MillerJ. D.ReynoldsS. K. (2005). Validation of the UPPS impulsive behaviour scale: A four‐factor model of impulsivity. European Journal of Personality, 19(7), 559–574. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.556
57.
WilhoitS. A.GoodnightJ. A. (2023). Deviant peer affiliation mediates the prospective association from impulsivity to alcohol use in late adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 95(3), 454–467. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12127
58.
WojciechowskiT. (2021). The dual mediating roles of impulsivity and emotion regulation of the borderline personality disorder‐violence relationship: A structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 66(6), 2329–2339. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14807
59.
WojciechowskiT.LawrenceT. I. (2024). Understanding pathways to physical teen dating violence: Social learning theory vs. birds of a feather hypothesis. Journal of Family Violence, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-024-00747-3
60.
WojciechowskiT. W. (2023). The influence of deviant peer association on dual systems model development: The protective role of resistance to peer influence. Applied Developmental Science, 27(4), 373–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2022.2102008
61.
WuJ.FettermanJ. L.RossJ. C.HongT. (2024). Effects of message frames and sources in TikTok videos for youth vaping cessation: Emotions and perceived message effectiveness as mediating mechanisms. Journal of Adolescent Health, 75(1), 122–130.
62.
YoonD.SnyderS. M.YoonS. (2020). Child maltreatment types and adolescent substance use: The role of deviant peer affiliation. Child & Family Social Work, 25(2), 355–363. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12691
63.
ZhaoX.CaiX.MalterudA. (2023). Framing effects in youth e-cigarette use prevention: Individual text messages versus simulated text exchanges. Health Education & Behavior: The Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 50(5), 683–692. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981221148965
