Sensation seeking and adolescent e-cigarette use

Background: A growing health concern is e-cigarette use among adolescents. Several correlates of this behavior have been elucidated, but few studies have examined whether sensation seeking is associated with e-cigarette use. The current study explores whether this personality dimension is related to e-cigarette use and whether the relationship is moderated by gender, race/ethnicity, or peer substance use. Methods: The analysis utilized data from 17,858 U.S. 8th - 10th grade students from the 2017 and 2018 Monitoring the Future (MTF) studies, who responded to questions about past 12-month e-cigarette use. The association with sensation seeking and four types of e-cigarette use - nicotine only, marijuana only, flavoring only, or nicotine and marijuana - was explored with a multinomial logistic regression model. Results: The results demonstrated that sensation seeking is positively associated with all four types of e-cigarette use, with a slightly stronger association with e-cigarette use involving marijuana. The associations were not moderated by gender, race/ethnicity, or peer substance use. Conclusions: The analysis suggested that sensation seeking consistently predicted several types of adolescent e-cigarette use. Research using longitudinal data and measures of e-cigarette use by family members and friends is needed, though, to better understand this association.