title: Characteristics of emerging adulthood and e-cigarette use: Findings from a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Emerging adults (ages 18 to 25) are more likely to use e-cigarettes compared to other age groups, but little is known about their risk and protective factors. A next step to understanding e-cigarette use among emerging adults may involve examining how transition-to-adulthood themes are associated with e-cigarette use. It may also be important to know which specific transitions, and how the accumulated number of role transitions experienced in emerging adulthood, are associated with e-cigarette use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Emerging adults completed surveys indicating their identification with transition-to-adulthood themes, role transitions in the past year, and e-cigarette use. Logistic regression models examined the associations between transition-to-adulthood themes and e-cigarette use. Separate logistic regression models explored the association between individual role transitions, as well as the accumulated number of role transitions experienced, and e-cigarette use, controlling for age, gender, and ethnicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the participants (n = 555), 21% were male, the average age was 22, 45% reported lifetime, and 12% reported past-month, e-cigarette use. Participants who felt emerging adulthood was a time of experimentation/possibility were more likely to report e-cigarette use. Several role transitions were found to be associated with e-cigarette use such as loss of a job, dating someone new, and experiencing a breakup. The relationship between the accumulated number of role transitions and e-cigarette use was curvilinear.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from this pilot study can be a point of departure for future studies looking to understand the risk and protective factors of e-cigarettes among emerging adults.
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine of USC, 2001 N. Soto Street, 3rd Floor Mail, Los Angeles, CA 90032, United States. Electronic address: allem@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Jon-Patrick
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Allem
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine of USC, 2001 N. Soto Street, 3rd Floor Mail, Los Angeles, CA 90032, United States.
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Forster
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine of USC, 2001 N. Soto Street, 3rd Floor Mail, Los Angeles, CA 90032, United States.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neiberger
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine of USC, 2001 N. Soto Street, 3rd Floor Mail, Los Angeles, CA 90032, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Unger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: E-cigarettes; Electronic cigarettes; Emerging adults; Prevention; Vape; Young adults