Health Psychology, Vol 43(6), Jun 2024, 418-425; doi:10.1037/hea0001368
Objective: Mass media campaigns have been designed to counter a rise in e-cigarette use among young people. No studies to date have established pathways from campaign exposure to e-cigarette use behaviors. This study examines the mechanisms through which exposure to the truth® campaign may prevent the progression of e-cigarette use among youth and young adults. Method: Data included four waves of the truth longitudinal cohort, a probability-based, nationally representative survey: Wave 1: September 2020–March 2021; Wave 2: July–October 2021; Wave 3: January–May 2022; and Wave 4: October 2022–January 2023. The sample (N = 4,744) was aged 15–24 years and nicotine naive at Wave 1. Latent growth structural equation modeling techniques examined the pathway from cumulative frequency of ad exposure (CFE) to the e-cigarette use progression via campaign-targeted attitudes. Results: The direct effect from CFE to e-cigarette use progression was not significant. The overall indirect pathway shows that CFE was significantly associated with lower progression of e-cigarette use (β = −.01, p p