Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
Conditions
Brief summary
Adolescent non-users of e-cigarettes and cannabis (N = 1,462) participated in the in-class survey-based experiment. They were randomly shown 3 pairs of images featuring influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside cannabis, (experimental group), or no-substance use or display (placebo treatment), or e-cigarette promotion alone (control). After viewing each pair of images, participants rated perceptions of influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) on the scale of 0 (e.g., dishonest) to 100 (honest). Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes was assessed after participants viewed all the images. These outcomes were then compared among participants who perceived influencers as credible and those who perceived influencers as non-credible.
Detailed description
Adolescents (13-17 years of age) living in California were recruited by Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science at the University of Southern California (USC TCORS) to participate in the ADVANCE survey cohort focused on tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. Participants completed the experiment, which was part of the survey at cohort's Wave 7, on Chromebooks in classroom. All participants provided informed consent and parental assent prior to participating in the experiment. The study was approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board (HS-19-00682-AM016). Respondents were randomly shown 3 pairs of images featuring influencers promoting e-cigarettes (image 1) paired with cannabis (image 2), (experimental group), or no-substance use or display (two images featuring neutral profiles of influencers), (placebo treatment), or e-cigarette promotion (image 1) paired with a neutral profile (with no e-cigarette) of the influencer featured in image 1 (control).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALInfluencer marketing
Participants viewed survey-imbedded promotional images featuring influencers
Sponsors
University of Southern California
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Images featuring influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside cannabis products
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
16 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* English fluency, * Current California resident.
Exclusion criteria
Not meeting these criteria: * English fluency, * Current California resident.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Perceptions of influencer credibility | assessed during the ~ 30-minute experiment, immediately after each of the three pairs of influencer images | Perceptions of influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) were assessed using a 0 (e.g., dishonest) -100 (e.g., honest) scale that has been validated in prior research. |
| Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes | one-time assessment after the experimental exposure (immediately post-treatment) | Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes was measured using the validated three-item scale adapted from Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH), and combined into one variable (α=0.93). Consistent with prior research, the measure was dichotomized with responses definitely not to all items being coded as not susceptible and responses probably not, probably yes, or definitely yes being coded as susceptible. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed