Social media and mental health linked to rising e-cigarette use in American teens

In a recent study published within the Journal of Affective Disorders, researchers from Pennsylvania investigated the role of indicators of mental health conditions in the connection between the usage of social media and e-cigarette use among the many youth. They found that the symptoms of tension and depression mediate the association between the usage of social media and e-cigarettes among the many youth.

Study: Social media and e-cigarette use: The mediating role of mental health conditions. Image Credit: Diego Cervo / Shutterstock

Background

About 2.55 million school students in the USA (US) use e-cigarettes, the most well-liked tobacco product among the many country’s youth. While e-cigarettes could also be useful in aiding smoking cessation, they contain nicotine and other toxic chemicals related to lung and cardiovascular diseases. Given the youth’s extensive use of social media, e-cigarette brands are widely promoted using social media platforms, positioning e-cigarettes as seemingly higher alternatives to smoking. Because of this, previous studies have shown an increased use of e-cigarettes by social media users as in comparison with non-users.

Mental health problems are also shown to be related to increased experimentation and use of e-cigarettes within the youth. Evidence suggests that e-cigarette users usually tend to experience mental health issues equivalent to depression and stress. Further, previous studies indicate an increased influence of social media on females’ mental health than males. Nevertheless, there may be an absence of studies examining the potential influence of mental health condition indicators on the association between the usage of social media and e-cigarettes among the many youth. Due to this fact, this study aimed to check the hypothesis that mental health condition indicators may mediate the increased use of e-cigarettes related to social media use among the many youth while checking for potential gender-based differences within the mediation.

In regards to the study

Data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) was used, which estimates tobacco use in US middle and highschool students. About 23,445 students were included within the study, and knowledge was gathered using online forms. About 49.9% of the sample were females. The scholars belonged to any of the next races: non-Hispanic White (55.7%), Hispanic (25.6%), non-Hispanic Black (11.8%), and non-Hispanic Other (8.9%). The first final result measured was e-cigarette use within the previous 30 days. Moreover, the frequency of social media use was categorized as “never” (didn’t use social media), “sometimes” (lower than once per week or 1–2 hours every day), “often” (3–4 hours every day), and “fairly often” (>4 hours every day). To measure the mental health condition indicators, the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) (a longtime screening tool for anxiety and depression) was used.

The potential outcomes framework was applied to review the mediation by mental health condition indicators of the link between social media use and e-cigarette use by the participants. Moreover, a gender-stratified evaluation was conducted to grasp the probable differences among the many two genders.

Results and discussion

The outcomes suggest that the individuals using social media “fairly often” were more prone to use e-cigarettes as in comparison with those that used social media “sometimes” or “never” (odds ratio (OR) = 1.41). The likelihood of using e-cigarettes was higher (OR = 1.57) and statistically significant within the “fairly often” social media users when the outcomes were adjusted for individual characteristics and mental health condition indicators as a mediator.

Gender-stratified evaluation suggests that the usage of social media had significant effects on the usage of e-cigarettes via mental health condition indicators, and the results were more pronounced in females (OR = 2.27) than in males (OR = 1.53). Female students using social media “often” or “fairly often” were found to be more prone to use e-cigarettes via mental health condition indicators.

The findings of this study are consistent with existing literature and indicate that excessive use of social media may negatively affect the mental health of the young population, potentially resulting in increased use of e-cigarettes by them. The study supports strategies and suggestions specializing in restricting the usage of social media amongst young people.

While that is the primary study linking mental health condition indicators, social media use, and e-cigarette use among the many youth, it is restricted by the proven fact that the indications, including anxiety and depression, were self-reported by the participants. Future studies might be prolonged to non-school-going youth and will further investigate the biological mechanisms underlying the gender-based differences observed on this study.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study describes the role of mental health condition indicators, including depression and anxiety, within the link between the usage of social media and e-cigarettes amongst school-going youth within the US. The study highlights the growing public health concerns related to social media use. It emphasizes that the increasing social media use, especially among the many youth, may severely impact their physical and mental health.