Influencer Marketing and Adolescent E-cigarette Use

Part of paid clinical trials in Seattle, Washington.

Sponsor
University of Southern California
Study ID
NCT07420842
Status
Completed

Conditions

  • Vaping

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
14 Years - 17 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing — OTHER
    Participants watched online survey-imbedded promotional videos featuring influencers. Influencer age appearance was manipulated using AI-based age filter.

Study Details

Adolescents (N = 700) participated in the online survey-based randomized experiment focused on understanding youth perceptions of e-cigarette influencer marketing on social media. Specifically, the study assessed how age appearance of social media influencers, fitness-related contextual framing of e-cigarette content, and perceived influencer credibility jointly shape adolescent harm perceptions, appeal, and susceptibility to e-cigarette use. Participants were randomly shown 6 videos, featuring younger- or older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes in the following experimental conditions: 1) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 1); 2) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 2); 3) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content; and 4) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content (control). After watching each video, participants rated perceptions of influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) on the scale of 0 (e.g., dishonest) to 100 (honest). Among all participants, harm perceptions and appeal of e-cigarettes was also assessed. Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes was assessed among never users of e-cigarettes.

Key Dates

Start date
Jul 16, 2025
Status verified
Feb 2026
Primary completion
Aug 1, 2025
Completion
Aug 1, 2025

Study Design

Enrollment
700 participants (actual)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
OTHER

Arms

  • Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities
    a 10 second video clip
  • Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities
    a 10 second video clip
  • Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities
    a 10 second video clip
  • Active Comparator: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities
    a 10 second video clip

Primary Outcome Measure

Harm Perceptions of e-cigarettes [ Time Frame: assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment ]

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Qualtrics, survey was administered onlineSeattleWashington98101-

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Qualtrics, survey was administered online· Seattle, WA

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