The association between race-based bullying and nicotine vaping in adolescents

Background

Racialized youth face a higher risk of bullying victimization due to discriminatory bias which can lead to adverse health conditions and increased substance use. This study aimed to examine whether bullying victimization is associated with nicotine vaping, and whether race-based bullying was associated with greater odds of nicotine vaping than other forms of bullying.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey data were used from the COMPASS study collected during the 2022–2023 school year from 14,480 students attending secondary schools in Ontario, Canada. Associations between any bullying victimization (in the last 30 days) and nicotine vaping (≥2 times in the last 30 days), and then among bullied students, between race-based bullying and vaping, were explored using random intercept logistic regression models.

Results

One third (33.4 %) of students who reported race-based bullying engaged in vaping, in comparison to 29.4 % of students who were bullied for other reasons and 15.6 % of nonbullied students. Students who experienced bullying had higher odds (AOR 2.25, 95 % CI [2.03–2.50]) of vaping relative to nonbullied students. Among students who experienced bullying, there was no statistical difference in the odds of vaping between those who reported being bullied due to racial or cultural reasons and their peers who reported being bullied for reasons other than their race or culture (1.16, 95 % CI [0.81–1.67]).

Conclusions

Results suggest that while bullying is strongly associated with vaping among adolescents, being bullied for reasons such as race, culture, or ethnicity does not significantly alter the likelihood of vaping behaviour relative to other forms of bullying.