Vaping among young people has increased substantially in recent years, raising concerns about nicotine dependence and potential long-term health consequences. Previous research suggests that individuals who identify more strongly as a “vaper” tend to vape more frequently, but less is known about the psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship. One possible explanation is that young people with a stronger vaping identity perceive vaping as less harmful, which may in turn be associated with more frequent use.

The current study examined the relationship between vaping identity, risk perceptions, and vaping frequency among Dutch adolescents and young adults who reported e-cigarette use in the past 30 days. Using survey data, a mediation analysis was conducted to investigate whether risk perceptions explain the association between vaping identity and vaping frequency.

Results showed that a stronger vaping identity was associated with more frequent vaping. However, risk perceptions were not significantly related to either vaping identity or vaping frequency and did not mediate the relationship between them. These findings suggest that identity-related processes may play a more important role in vaping behaviour among young people than perceptions of health risks. The implications of these findings for vaping prevention and intervention efforts will be discussed.