Led by psychological scientists Prof Tamlin Conner and Andre Mason and published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, the study found men were 52% more likely to take up vaping as adults, and those with mental health issues were 43% more likely, amid other factors.
Prof Conner said they hoped the research could help provide tailored support to those in need.
"There has been a lot of work on understanding ... smoking, drug use, alcohol, but because vaping is still relatively new, there's not a lot on how psychological processes can contribute to this particular health behaviour."
The study focused on those who were taking up the habit from scratch, rather than using vapes to wean themselves off cigarettes, and analysed longitudinal data of more than 36,000 New Zealand adults from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study.
People with lower levels of self control were 21% more likely to start vaping, and extroverts were 9% more likely.
Economic deprivation increased the likelihood of vaping by 7%,
Māori and young people under 25 and were also more likely to take up the habit, although the study was limited because the sample included fewer people from those demographics.
Prof Conner said there were still plenty of middle-aged adults taking up vaping as a lifestyle choice.
"I hate to say [vaping is] just all around bad, but it's becoming an increasingly public health issue. It's becoming more and more popular.
"You see people taking it up and using it as a lifestyle choice rather than using it as a smoking cessation device, so we wanted to add a psychological angle to this rather than just simply documenting the pattern."
It could be difficult to channel people into healthier alternatives sometimes, but the research they had carried out could be used to inform who to intervene with and how, she said.
"You can imagine tailoring an intervention to speak to a certain population of individuals who might have mental health issues or ... issues with self control, impulse control and even extroversion."
For example, public health campaigns to try to prevent vaping could be tailored to social environments, and focus on ways to spend time with people that did not involve reaching for a vape.
Vaping uptake factors
Male 52% more likely
Mental health issues 43% more likely
Lower self-control 21% more likely
Higher extroversion 9% more likely
Economic deprivation 7% more likely
