School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
Am J Addict. 2019 Jul;28(4):303-310. doi: 10.1111/ajad.12890. Epub 2019 May 8.
E-cigarette use among young people is highly prevalent. Individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences such as childhood maltreatment (CM) may be at particular risk, as CM has been linked to nicotine dependence. Studies testing the association between CM and e-cigarette use are lacking, including research that examines pathways linking CM to e-cigarette use.
Using a community sample of young adults (N = 208; ages 18-21), we examined the relationship between CM and e-cigarette use and explored the potential role of impulsivity in linking CM to e-cigarette use via a series of structural equation models controlling for demographic characteristics.
CM was significantly associated with lifetime e-cigarette use. Furthermore, CM was associated with negative urgency (NU), whereas NU and sensation seeking were significantly related to lifetime e-cigarette use. NU fully mediated the relationship between CM and lifetime e-cigarette use.
Our results suggest that young adults with a history of CM might be vulnerable to e-cigarette use and that NU played a significant role in linking CM to lifetime e-cigarette use. Addressing NU in young adults with a history of CM might be a useful avenue for preventing e-cigarette use in this population. (Am J Addict 2019;28:303-310).
青少年电子烟使用率极高。曾遭受过儿童期虐待（CM）等不良童年经历的个体可能面临着特殊的风险，因为 CM 与尼古丁依赖有关。目前缺乏测试 CM 与电子烟使用之间关联的研究，包括研究 CM 与电子烟使用之间联系的途径。
我们使用了一个由年轻人组成的社区样本（N=208；年龄 18-21 岁），检验了 CM 与电子烟使用之间的关系，并通过一系列结构方程模型，探索了冲动性在通过 CM 与电子烟使用之间的潜在联系的作用，这些模型控制了人口统计学特征。
CM 与终生电子烟使用显著相关。此外，CM 与负性冲动（NU）有关，而 NU 和感觉寻求与终生电子烟使用显著相关。NU 完全中介了 CM 与终生电子烟使用之间的关系。
我们的研究结果表明，有 CM 病史的年轻人可能容易使用电子烟，而 NU 在 CM 与终生电子烟使用之间的联系中起着重要作用。针对有 CM 病史的年轻人的 NU 可能是预防该人群使用电子烟的一个有效途径。
