Friends' drinking norms and male adolescents' alcohol consumption: The moderating role of performance-based peer influence susceptibility

Beyond delinquency and drug use: Links of peer pressure to long-term adolescent psychosocial development

This study examined the predictors and sequelae of exposure to peer pressure from close friends in adolescence. Adolescents (99 female; 85 male) were followed from age 13 to 24 utilizing peer, parent, and romantic partner reports and observational data. Participants who were exposed to high levels of peer pressure as teens were more likely to experience higher levels of coercive behavior from romantic partners (as reported by those partners), as well as lower levels of parent-reported functional independence. All findings held even after accounting for baseline levels of teen assertiveness. Adolescents at risk for increasing exposure to peer pressure were characterized by poor-quality parent and peer relationships, as well as baseline deficits in ability to assert autonomy. Results suggest that exposure to peer pressure, aside from its potential effects on deviant or risky behavior, may reflect a powerful threat to the autonomy development process as adolescents transition from parents to peers as primary sources of support and interaction.

The personality and cognitive traits associated with adolescents' sensitivity to social norms

Little is known about the personality and cognitive traits that shape adolescents' sensitivity to social norms. Further, few studies have harnessed novel empirical tools to elicit sensitivity to social norms among adolescent populations. This paper examines the association between sensitivity to norms and various personality and cognitive traits using an incentivised rule-following task grounded in Game Theory. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 1274 adolescents. Self-administered questionnaires were used to measure personality traits as well as other psychosocial characteristics. Incentivised rule-following experiments gauged sensitivity to social norms. A series of multilevel mixed effects ordered logistic regression models were employed to assess the association between sensitivity to norms and the personality and cognitive traits. The results highlighted statistically significant univariate associations between the personality and cognitive traits and sensitivity to norms. However, in the multivariate adjusted model, the only factor associated with sensitivity to norms was gender. The gender-stratified analyses revealed differences in the personality and cognitive traits associated with sensitivity to norms across genders. For males need to belong was significantly negatively associated with sensitivity to norms in the multivariate model. By comparison, emotional stability was negatively associated with sensitivity to norms for females. This study reinforced the findings from an earlier study and suggested female adolescents had higher levels of sensitivity to norms. The results indicated no consistent pattern between sensitivity to norms and the personality and cognitive traits. Our findings provide a basis for further empirical research on a relatively nascent construct, and bring a fresh perspective to the question of norm-following preferences among this age group.

Beyond Susceptibility: Openness to Peer Influence is Predicted by Adaptive Social Relationships

This study examined the hypothesis, derived from theories highlighting the importance of group harmony and sense of belonging in human relationships, that the adolescents who are most likely to be influenced by their close friends are those who have the highest quality social relationships. Potential moderators of close friend influence on adolescent substance use were examined in a sample of 157 adolescents followed across a one-year period in mid-adolescence using a combination of observational, sociometric, and self- and peer-report measures. As hypothesized, the degree to which adolescents changed their levels of substance use in accord with a close friend's levels of use at baseline was predicted by multiple, independent markers of higher quality social relationships including: having a higher quality maternal relationship, being identified as a socially desirable companion within the broader peer group, and having a close friend who handled disagreements with warmth and autonomy. Notably, influence processes were neutral in valence: Teens displayed relative reductions in substance use when their close friends had low levels of use and the opposite when their friends had high levels of use. Results are discussed as suggesting the need to distinguish overall normative and adaptive peer influence processes from the sometimes maladaptive effects that can occur when teens associate with specific deviant peers or with a problematic adolescent subculture.

Adolescents' Frequency of Alcohol Use and Problems from Alcohol Abuse: Integrating Dating Partners with Parent and Peer Influences

Despite the centrality of dating relationships for teens, it is unclear whether the influence of romantic partners' alcohol use on adolescents' under-age drinking is distinct from the influence of peers and parents. To address this gap, this study used longitudinal data from a population-based sample of 825 adolescents (49% male, 51% female), ages 12 to 19. Adolescents completed a survey using laptops for privacy, and a parent completed a survey separately. Ordinary least squares and logistic regression models assessed alcohol use frequency and alcohol problems and included dating partners' drinking, adolescents' prior drinking, peers' drinking, parents' substance use, parental monitoring, and sociodemographic background characteristics. Alcohol use frequency and alcohol problems were influenced by dating partners' alcohol use and dating partners' influence was stronger on older adolescents and male adolescents. The study results are useful for public health messaging and prevention efforts by demonstrating the influence of parents, peers, and dating partners on teens' alcohol use.

Mothers Matter: Using Regression Tree Algorithms to Predict Adolescents' Sharing of Drunk References on Social Media

Exposure to online drinking on social media is associated with real-life alcohol consumption. Building on the Theory of planned behavior, the current study substantially adds to this line of research by identifying the predictors of sharing drunk references on social media. Based on a cross-sectional survey among 1639 adolescents with a mean age of 15 (59% female), this study compares and discusses multiple regression tree algorithms predicting the sharing of drunk references. More specifically, this paper compares the accuracy of classification and regression tree, bagging, random forest and extreme gradient boosting algorithms. The analysis indicates that four concepts are central to predicting adolescents' sharing of drunk references: (1) exposure to them on social media; (2) the perceived injunctive norms of the mother towards alcohol consumption; (3) the perceived descriptive norms of best friends towards alcohol consumption; and (4) willingness to drink alcohol. The most accurate results were obtained using extreme gradient boosting. This study provides theoretical, practical, and methodological conclusions. It shows that maternal norms toward alcohol consumption are a central predictor for sharing drunk references. Therefore, future media literacy interventions should take an ecological perspective. In addition, this analysis indicates that regression trees are an advantageous method in youth research, combining accurate predictions with straightforward interpretations.

Differences in Adolescents' Alcohol Use and Smoking Behavior between Educational Tracks: Do Popularity Norms Matter?

Explanations about differences in drinking and smoking rates between educational tracks have so far mainly focused on factors outside the classroom. The extent to which these behaviors are rewarded with popularity within a classroom—so called popularity norms—and their interaction with individual characteristics could explain the observed differences in risk behavior. 1860 adolescents (M_age = 13.04; 50% girls) from 81 different classrooms reported three times during one academic year about their own and their classmates behavior. Overall, in vocational tracks popularity norms for alcohol and smoking were more positive and predicted classroom differences in alcohol and smoking. Knowledge about classroom processes can advance the field in unraveling the functional aspects of risk behavior in adolescence. Preregistration: The hypotheses and the analytical plan of this study were preregistered under number #39136 (https://aspredicted.org/blind.php?x=gx77p6).

Peers' Choices Influence Adolescent Risk-taking Especially When Explicit Risk Information is Lacking

This study examines the impact of peers' previous cautious versus risky choices on adolescents' risk-taking depending on the level of information about the risk. Adolescents completed an adaptation of the BART that manipulated social influence (cautious and risky) and risk information (i.e., informed, noninformed). Results showed that social influence impacts adolescents' decisions on the noninformed BART but not on the informed BART. In the noninformed BART, the peers' cautious choices strongly decreased risk-taking and led to greater performance. The peers' risky choices increase adolescents' risk-taking, but this effect is limited to situations involving minimal risk. Thus social experience may be a specific social context that represents a valuable source of information during adolescence, especially in situations with high uncertainty.

Adolescents' Perceived Drinking Norms Toward Alcohol Misuse: An Integrative Review

The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize prior research on the relationship between adolescents' perceived subjective and descriptive drinking norms and their drinking intention and behaviors. Four databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, and Sociological Abstracts) were searched to identify relevant articles. Thirty-one peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed. The results highlight that adolescents' perceived drinking norms derived from their parents and peers, such as approving or disapproving attitudes, significantly influence adolescents' drinking intention and behaviors. Moreover, pro-drinking messages, advertisements, and postings from electronic media (i.e., TV, movies, and the Internet) and online social networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) shape adolescents' drinking intention and encourage adolescents to initiate alcohol consumption early and/or escalate their drinking. Thus, future interventions should focus on subjective drinking norms that stem from interpersonal relationships in combination with perceived descriptive drinking norms derived from various media exposure.

The consumption of alcohol by adolescent schoolchildren: Differences in the triadic relationship pattern between rural and urban environments

OBJECTIVE

Excessive alcohol consumption in adolescents is one of the most significant public health problems currently facing society. Social and geographical contexts contribute to the development of alcohol-related behavior in adolescents. The aim of this research is to analyze the social pattern related to alcohol consumption in adolescents based on their geographical environment.

METHODOLOGY

We designed a descriptive cross-sectional study based on social network analysis. We recruited 196 high school students between 16 and 18 years of age to participate in the study. The methodology applied was social network analysis by means of transitivity and homophily social triads. The data were analyzed using STATA statistical software.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

A total of 58.48% of rural adolescents consumed alcohol compared to 49.52% of urban adolescents. These results demonstrate that adolescents who live in rural areas exhibit a greater risk of drinking alcohol than those who live in urban areas. The presence of transitive triads increases the probability of sharing sociodemographic attributes in such a way that it may be considered one of the causes of homophily, contributing to adolescents taking greater risks, such as consuming alcohol.

Neurobiological Sensitivity to Social Rewards and Punishments Moderates Link Between Peer Norms and Adolescent Risk Taking

Although peer influence is a strong predictor of adolescents' risk-taking behaviors, not all adolescents are susceptible to their peer group. One hundred and thirty-six adolescents (M_age  = 12.79 years) completed an fMRI scan, measures of perceived peer group norms, and engagement in risky behavior. Ventral striatum (VS) sensitivity when anticipating social rewards and avoiding social punishments significantly moderated the association between perceived peer norms and adolescents' own risk behaviors. Perceptions of more deviant peer norms were associated with increased risky behavior, but only for adolescents with high VS sensitivity; adolescents with low VS sensitivity were resilient to deviant peer norms, showing low risk taking regardless of peer context. Findings provide a novel contribution to the study of peer influence susceptibility.

Qualitative exploration of the intersection between social influences and cultural norms in relation to the development of alcohol use behaviour during adolescence

OBJECTIVES

Few contemporary studies have examined peer and social drivers of alcohol use during mid-adolescence. We sought to explore young people's perspectives on socio-cultural influences relating to alcohol use behaviour during this period.

DESIGN

Qualitative research study.

METHODS

Semi-structured one-to-one (n=25), paired (n=4) or triad (n=1) interviews and one focus group (n=6) were conducted with 30 young people aged 14 to 15 (13 males, 17 females) recruited from 4 schools, and 12 participants (aged 14 to 18, 8 males, 4 females) recruited from two youth groups in an urban centre in the West of England. Nineteen participants abstained from alcohol use, 9 were occasional or moderate drinkers and 14 drank alcohol more regularly. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using NVivo V.10, through a lens of social influence and social norms theories.

RESULTS

Alcohol consumption was associated with being cool, mature and popular, while enabling escape from reality and boosting confidence and enjoyment. Positive expectancies, alongside opportunity, contributed to motivating initiation, but social influences were paramount, with participants describing a need to 'fit in' with friends to avoid social exclusion. Such influences positioned drinking at parties as a normative social practice, providing opportunities for social learning and the strengthening of peer norms. Social media presented young people with positive alcohol-associated depictions of social status, enjoyment and maturity. This intersection of influences and norms generated a pressurised environment and a sense of unease around resisting pressures, which could elicit stigmatising insults.

CONCLUSIONS

Cultural norms, social influences and social media intersect to create a pressurised environment around alcohol use during mid-adolescence, driving the escalation in the prevalence of excessive consumption at this stage. New interventions need to address normative influences to enable the prevention of excessive alcohol use during adolescence.

Social cohesion and peer acceptance predict student-athletes' attitudes toward health-risk behaviors: A within- and between-group investigation

OBJECTIVES

Collegiate student-athletes often engage in health-risk behaviors such as alcohol misuse and hazing, but the literature in this domain lacks evidence pertaining to how peers shape attitudes towards such behaviors. We investigated how peer acceptance and social cohesion relate to attitudes towards alcohol use, marijuana use, drinking and driving, playing through a concussion, performance enhancing substance use, and hazing.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

METHODS

Participants were 387 NCAA athletes from 23 intact teams. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the extent that health-risk attitudes clustered within teams and enabled us to disentangle individual-level and group-level effects of peer acceptance and social cohesion.

RESULTS

Intraclass correlation coefficients revealed that health-risk attitudes clustered within teams. At the individual-level, student-athletes who perceived higher levels of peer acceptance, relative to teammates, held riskier attitudes towards alcohol use, playing through a concussion, and hazing. Meanwhile, those who perceived higher levels of social cohesion relative to teammates held less risky attitudes towards playing through a concussion. At the group-level, teams with greater peer acceptance held less risky attitudes towards playing through a concussion, whereas teams with greater social cohesion held riskier attitudes toward playing through a concussion.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicated that health-risk behaviors may cluster within teams, and that peer acceptance and cohesiveness are differentially associated with attitudes toward risky behavior. Given that peer influence is a multilevel phenomenon, it is prudent that prevention efforts leverage social processes within teams, while reducing pressures to engage in risky behaviors.

With a little help from my friends? A longitudinal look at the role of peers versus friends on adolescent alcohol use

INTRODUCTION

Alcohol is the most commonly used substance by South African adolescents. Social norms play a key role in alcohol use, although distinctions are not always made between descriptive and injunctive norms and peer proximity. Additionally, little research identifies factors attenuating social norms, peer proximity, and alcohol use, such as one's ability to resist peer influence.

METHODS

The current study investigates the relationship between adolescent alcohol use in 9th Grade and descriptive peer and injunctive friend norms in 8th grade, the moderating role of resistance to peer influence, and sex differences. Data were from South African students (N = 3592; M_age = 14) participating in the HealthWise South Africa implementation quality trial.

RESULTS

Path model results indicated injunctive friend norms, but not peer norms, influenced alcohol use. Resistance to peer influence did not moderate relationships and group comparisons found no sex differences.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest social proximity shapes influences of alcohol use. Despite a differing cultural context, findings were consistent with those from the United States, indicating social proximity is relevant cross-culturally.

Associations of perceived drinking motives of parents and friends on adolescents' own drinking motives

Adolescents form perceptions of why their parents and friends drink alcohol that may impact adolescents' own drinking motives. This study tested whether perceived drinking motives of parents and friends are associated with adolescents' own drinking motives. Participants included community-recruited adolescents 14-17 years (N = 105; 63.8% female) who drank alcohol in the past year. Perceived parent and friend motives both related to adolescent drinking motives at the bivariate level; however, only friend motives remained statistically significant in the final hierarchical regression models controlling for relevant covariates (e.g., alcohol frequency). Findings support a social-cognitive modeling pathway in the development of adolescents' own drinking motives and highlight the perception of why others drink as a potential intervention target.

The Influence of Adolescents' Social Networks on Alcohol Consumption: A Descriptive Study of Spanish Adolescents Using Social Network Analysis

In adolescence, friends are important due to their influence on the acquisition of habits such as alcohol consumption. However, there is a lack of studies that describe the structural context of adolescents, which would be useful to implement prevention strategies. Therefore, our research question was how adolescent friendship networks influence alcohol consumption. Our goal was to determine the structural profile of adolescent at-risk alcohol users and their relational context in the classroom. We designed a descriptive cross-sectional study based on social network analysis to analyze structural patterns. We recruited 195 students. Social-network and alcohol-consumption variables were analyzed using the UCINET and STATA programs. Some 86.67% of participants had consumed alcohol at some time in their lives and the prevalence of at-risk alcohol use was higher in females (50.48% vs. 49.52%; OR: 1.84; CI 95%: 0.99⁻3.43%; p = 0.036). The lower the intensity of friendship, the more contacts adolescent at-risk alcohol users had within the network, and the easier it was for them to access their peers. Consequently, we conclude that the structure of a class is a key factor that merits further research.

Everyone Else Is Doing It: The Association Between Social Identity and Susceptibility to Peer Influence in NCAA Athletes

The authors examined athletes' conformity to teammates' risky behaviors through a performance-based manipulation paradigm. They hypothesized that athletes who strongly identified with their team would be at increased risk of conforming to teammates' behaviors. Athletes (N = 379) from 23 intact National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams completed surveys (e.g., social identity) and reported the extent to which they would engage in risky behavior scenarios (e.g., drinking and driving). Then, researchers displayed ostensible responses that were manipulated to appear as though teammates reported high engagement in the risky behaviors. Finally, athletes again responded to the hypothetical scenarios and a conformity index was created. Results indicated that social identity, at both individual and group levels, positively predicted conformity-indicating that athletes with stronger social identities are more susceptible to peer influence. Although these findings highlight a pernicious aspect of social identity, they also provide insight into how group-level processes could be leveraged to prevent risky behaviors in student-athletes.

Patterns and perception of alcohol drinking among the Lahu people, Northern Thailand

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the pattern and perception of alcohol drinking among the Lahu people in northern Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative method was used to elicit information on the patterns and perceptions of alcohol drinking amongst the Lahu tribespeople. Question guidelines had been developed from literature reviews and approved by three experts in the field of public health and alcohol studies. A total of 21 participants of different ages and sexes from 3 separate Lahu villages were invited to provide information. All interviews were taped and transcribed before analysis. A content analysis was used.

Findings

Lahu people begin alcohol consumption at an average of 12 years, with males usually beginning before females of the same age. Consuming alcohol is perceived to be a sign of adulthood and is also used as a means of gaining social acceptance from others in the community. Alcohol is consumed throughout the year with young and old, male and females, describing varied reasons for drinking. Income, parental behavior, and peer pressure contributes to the onset of alcohol drinking among young Lahu people. Several factors contributed to the use of alcohol among the Lahu people such as sex, age, occupation and income, peer pressure, taste and price as well as cultural adaptations amongst the farming community that play a significant role in the frequency of alcohol consumption amongst the Lahu community.

Originality/value

The results should support the development of peer education on the negative impact of alcohol use among the young people, and development of a community agreement on reducing excessive alcohol use in the Lahu community should be implemented.

Adolescent resilience to addiction: a social plasticity hypothesis

The prevalence of substance use disorders is highest during adolescence; however, many adolescents experience a natural resolution of their substance use by early adulthood, without any formal intervention. Something appears to be unique and adaptive about the adolescent brain. In this Review, we examine the roles of the social environment and neurocognitive development in adolescents' natural resilience to substance use disorders. At present, little is known about the neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie this adaptive phenomenon, since neurodevelopmental studies have mainly focused on the risk side of the substance use equation: escalation of substance use. To provide a framework for future studies, we put forth a social plasticity model that includes developmentally limited enhanced social attunement (ie, the need to harmonise with the social environment), affective processing, and brain plasticity, which underlie adolescents' capacity to learn from and adapt to their constantly evolving social environments.

A Qualitative Study of Secondary School Teachers' Perception of Social Network Analysis Metrics in the Context of Alcohol Consumption among Adolescents

Adolescence is a transitional period during which a number of changes occur. Social relationships established during this period influence adolescent behaviour and affect academic performance or alcohol consumption habits, among other issues. Teachers are very important actors in observing and guiding the evolution of their students, and should therefore have the appropriate knowledge and tools to gain insight into the complex social relationships that exist in their classes. The use of social network analysis (SNA) techniques may be helpful in order to study and monitor the evolution of these social networks. This study tries to understand how teachers perceive SNA metrics from an intuitive point of view. Using this information, useful tools could be created that allow teachers to use SNA techniques to improve their understanding of student relationships. A number of interviews with different teachers were held in secondary schools in Spain, allowing SNA concepts to be related to the everyday terms used by the teachers to characterize their students. Results from the study have an impact on questionnaire design for gathering data from students in order to perform an SNA analysis and on the design of software applications that can help teachers to understand the results of this analysis.