Teens Who Perceived Their Neighborhoods as Disadvantaged Were More Likely to Vape Cannabis
How teenagers perceived their neighborhood mattered more than census-based measures of disadvantage when it came to predicting cannabis and nicotine vaping over two years.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Subjective neighborhood disorder (how teens perceived their area) was significantly associated with both cannabis vaping (RR=1.04 per unit increase) and nicotine vaping (RR=1.04). Census-derived area deprivation showed no independent association. Teens with both high perceived and high objective disadvantage had 1.73 times the risk of nicotine vaping, while those with high perceived but low objective disadvantage had 2.04 times the risk of cannabis vaping.
Key Numbers
3,278 students, mean baseline age 15.7 years, followed across 5 waves over 2 years. Subjective neighborhood disorder: RR=1.04 for both cannabis and nicotine vaping. High subjective + high objective disadvantage: RR=1.73 for nicotine vaping. High subjective + low objective disadvantage: RR=2.04 for cannabis vaping. Correlation between subjective and objective measures was weak (r=0.27).
How They Did This
Prospective cohort of 3,278 Southern California high school students followed across five semi-annual waves (2022-2024). Baseline measures of subjective neighborhood disorder and census-derived area deprivation index were linked to repeated measures of past-30-day cannabis and nicotine vaping.
Why This Research Matters
Public health interventions often target neighborhoods based on census data, but this study suggests that how teens experience their environment may be a stronger predictor of vaping behavior than objective economic indicators.
The Bigger Picture
This adds to evidence that subjective experiences of one's environment can shape health behaviors independently of objective conditions, suggesting prevention programs should consider how youth perceive their surroundings.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Limited to Southern California, which may not generalize nationally. Vaping was self-reported. The weak correlation between subjective and objective measures raises questions about what subjective scales actually capture.
Questions This Raises
- ?Why did teens in objectively less disadvantaged areas but with high perceived disadvantage have the highest cannabis vaping risk?
- ?What specific aspects of perceived neighborhood disorder drive vaping behavior?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Teens with high perceived but low objective disadvantage had 2.04x the risk of cannabis vaping
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate: prospective design with large sample and repeated measures, though limited to one region and reliant on self-report.
- Study Age:
- 2025 study using 2022-2024 data.
- Original Title:
- Prospective associations of subjective and objective neighborhood disadvantage with cannabis and nicotine vaping among Southern California adolescents.
- Published In:
- Health & place, 96, 103577 (2025)
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06932
Evidence Hierarchy
Enrolls participants and follows them forward in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does living in a poor neighborhood make teens more likely to vape?
Census-based neighborhood poverty alone did not predict vaping. What mattered more was how teens perceived their neighborhood, regardless of its objective economic status.
How many waves of data were collected?
Five semi-annual waves over two years (2022-2024), providing a prospective view of how baseline neighborhood perceptions related to vaping over time.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06932APA
Li, Danyi; Eckel, Sandrah P; Sanchez, Louisiana M; Pentz, Mary Ann; Harlow, Alyssa F. (2025). Prospective associations of subjective and objective neighborhood disadvantage with cannabis and nicotine vaping among Southern California adolescents.. Health & place, 96, 103577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2025.103577
MLA
Li, Danyi, et al. "Prospective associations of subjective and objective neighborhood disadvantage with cannabis and nicotine vaping among Southern California adolescents.." Health & place, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2025.103577
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Prospective associations of subjective and objective neighbo..." RTHC-06932. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/li-2025-prospective-associations-of-subjective
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.