This dissertation comprises three studies with the overarching goal of investigating effective messaging strategies to encourage e-cigarette cessation among youth who use e-cigarettes. Study one employs the McGuire’s Communication/ Persuasion model to identify research gaps in the literature on health messages targeting youth e-cigarette use. The systematic review reveals a lack of research specifically targeting vaping cessation among youth who currently use e-cigarettes. As a result, the subsequent studies in this dissertation focus on youth vaping cessation to address this research gap. Study two presents a content analysis of existing vaping-cessation related TikTok videos. The findings of study 2 suggest that themes pertaining to physical health outcomes, nicotine addiction, harmful chemicals, and relatable message sources were associated with higher engagement, underscoring the importance of tailored messaging content and relatable sources to engage the young audience on TikTok. Study 3 consists of an experimental study that specifically examines the effects of message frames (gain vs. loss) and two types of expert message sources (formal vs. informal expert sources) on youth intention to quit vaping. The study found that TikTok videos employing gain-framed messages hold promise in promoting positive emotional responses and, consequently, intention to quit vaping among youth. Lastly, chapter 5 provides a summary of the findings within this dissertation, offering insights into future research directions and proposing practical implications derived from the three studies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/46684 |
| Date | 06 September 2023 |
| Creators | Wu, Jiaxi |
| Contributors | Hong, Traci |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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