title: Distinctive role of opinion leaders in the social networks of school adolescents: an investigation of e-cigarette use.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examines a diverse set of social motives (e.g. peer support, peer pressure, social loneliness) for e-cigarette use, through the mediating effects of opinion leadership, among both male and female adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were obtained from a survey conducted among 666 adolescents across 14 school classes, namely, students at three urban schools, public and private, in Lille, France. The proposed integrative model includes social motives, opinion leadership and e-cigarette use in a trilateral relationship; gender is proposed and tested as a potential moderator in a structural equation model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More positive peer support is negatively associated with opinion leadership and e-cigarette use. Both loneliness and susceptibility to peer influence are positively related to opinion leadership and e-cigarette use. Moreover, social support from peers and opinion leadership shape e-cigarette use differently across genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Policy makers should account for the various (positive and negative) roles of peers and consider the gender of their audience when designing anti-e-cigarette policies.
authors.affiliation: SKEMA Business School - Université de Lille, MERCUR Research Center, Avenue Will Brandt, 59 777 Euralille, France. Electronic address: elodie.gentina@skema.edu.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gentina
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Department of Economics, 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: dbasar@hacettepe.edu.tr.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kilic
authors.affiliation: Hôpital de Wattrelos, Department of Tobacco, 30 Rue du Dr Alexander Fleming, 59150 Wattrelos, France. Electronic address: pfdancoine@msn.com.
authors.forename: P-F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Dancoine
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D060756:Social Networking; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescent smoking; Anti-smoking policies; Gender differences; Opinion leadership; Peer role; e-Cigarette