{"doi":"10.1093/ntr/ntaf065","title":"Network Dynamics of Social Influence on E-cigarette Use Among an Ethnically Diverse Adolescent Cohort","abstract":"INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to examine the mechanisms of social influence driving e-cigarette use in adolescent social networks and differentiate between the effects of exposure to friend behavior and social norms on individual use. AIMS AND METHODS: Surveys on health behaviors and friendship networks from nine high schools in Southern California (N = 2245; 48% Hispanic) were collected at three time points from Spring 2021 of grade 9, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022 of grade 10. Stochastic actor-oriented models for the co-evolution of social networks and behavior dynamics tested for friendship network social influences on e-cigarette use. Two mechanisms of social influence were estimated, exposure to friend behavior (e-cigarette use among friends) and pro-e-cigarette social norms (perceived peer approval and use of e-cigarettes), while controlling for social selection, individual covariates, and endogenous network effects. Results from the nine schools were combined in a meta-analysis. RESULTS: Findings revealed social influence effects through exposure to friend e-cigarette use and pro-e-cigarette social norms, which both had significant positive influences on individual e-cigarette initiation over time. Furthermore, Hispanic/Latine individuals and females were more likely to initiate e-cigarette use compared to males and non-Hispanic/Latine students. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of these effects should be considered in tobacco prevention initiatives. Designing culturally tailored interventions that target youth social networks and e-cigarette social norms could be effective at curtailing adolescent use. Changing perceptions and social acceptability of e-cigarettes could be one way to slow or prevent the spread of e-cigarette use in adolescent networks. IMPLICATIONS: These findings demonstrate the role of social influence on adolescent e-cigarette use through two mechanisms, both friend behavior and social norms. A shift in prevention strategies toward addressing social dynamics and social norms rather than focusing solely on individual-level factors may be effective in curtailing use. Changing social perceptions and reducing the social acceptability of e-cigarette use may help slow the spread in adolescent networks.","journal":"Nicotine & Tobacco Research","year":2025,"id":520752,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":5,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.5659,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":273346,"name":"Kayla de la Haye","orcid":"0000-0002-2536-7701","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":329843,"name":"Thomas W. Valente","orcid":"0000-0002-8824-5816","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":766832,"name":"Sarah E. Piombo","orcid":"0000-0001-5118-7897","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":39,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:49:32.958846Z","pmid":"40089809","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}