This study uses social learning theory to examine whether differential associations with e-cigarette-using peers is related to personal e-cigarette use among youth, and the extent to which this relationship is explained by personal risk perceptions of e-cigarettes. Moreover, this study tests whether the mediation process is moderated by type of e-cigarette user. This study uses a sample of high school seniors from the 2016 Monitoring the Future Study (N = 2,100), and a subsample of e-cigarette users (n = 523). Analyses are carried out using OLS and logistic regression. Findings demonstrate that higher levels of peer e-cigarette use are related to higher odds of personal e-cigarette use, but that risk perceptions of e-cigarettes only explain a modest portion of that relationship (about 10%). Furthermore, the mediation process does not appear to vary by type of e-cigarette user. Future directions and policy implications are discussed.

中文翻译：

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同龄人、认知和电子烟：一种解释青少年使用电子烟的社会学习方法

本研究使用社会学习理论来检验与使用电子烟的同龄人的差异关联是否与青少年个人使用电子烟有关，以及这种关系在多大程度上可以通过个人对电子烟的风险感知来解释。此外，这项研究测试了调解过程是否受电子烟用户类型的调节。本研究使用 2016 年监测未来研究中的高中生样本（N = 2,100）和电子烟用户子样本（n = 523）。使用 OLS 和逻辑回归进行分析。调查结果表明，同龄人使用电子烟的水平越高，个人使用电子烟的几率越高，但对电子烟的风险认知只能解释这种关系的一小部分（约 10%）。此外，调解过程似乎不会因电子烟用户类型而异。讨论了未来的方向和政策影响。