Exploring Psychological and Behavioural Predictors of Environmental Concern Surrounding Vapes: A Study Involving British E-Cigarette Users.

Research within psychology has highlighted that environmental concern underpins pro-environmental behaviours, with a number of factors moderating such relationships (Dietz et al., 2009; Kennedy et al., 2015; Gifford & Nilsson, 2014). Within environmental psychology, topics such as purchasing behaviours, recycling behaviours and political beliefs have commonly been researched, with an amalgamation of references being made to how knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and values contribute to concerns for environmental impacts of behaviours. However, one area that is under researched within environmental psychology, is the topic of vaping and how active users perceive the environmental impacts of such behaviours. This research aims to understand the relationships between psychological and behavioural variables that underpin environmental concern, within this under-researched demographic. To address this aim, an online survey assessing participant vaping behaviours, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and values will be conducted. Adhering to an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, qualitative investigation will be conducted following the analysis of quantitative data. This will enable the researcher to make claims surrounding the underlying causal mechanisms that contribute to perceptions and behaviours surrounding environmental concern associated with vaping.