Association Between Vaping and Bullying Among High School Students in the United States

Background: Bullying in schools has been a major issue among teens in the United States. The effects of bullying could be detrimental to both the mental and physical health of teens. Teens who are bullied may face higher odds of vaping or substance use. The specific aim of this study is to understand the relationship between vaping and being bullied. Method: The study used CDC 2023 YBRS data. The variables included in the study were being bullied, vaping status, grade level, sex, race, and sexual identity. Frequencies, percents, chi-square analysis, and multivariate binary logistic regression were used in the analysis. Results: After controlling for covariates (i.e., grade, sex, race, sexual identity), being bullied was associated with 2.2 times higher odds of vaping (OR, 2.2, 95% CI, 2.0–2.4, p-value ≤ 0.001) among high school students. Conclusions: Based on the findings, being bullied increased the odds of vaping. The higher odds suggest the need for more interventions to address bullying and bring awareness to the risk factors associated with bullying.