Coevolution of adolescent friendship networks and smoking and drinking behaviors with consideration of parental influence

Interaction Between State-Level Cigarette Prices and County-Level Tobacco 21 Coverage on Cigarette Smoking Outcomes Among US Adolescents

PURPOSE

To examine whether Tobacco 21 (T21) law coverage moderated associations between cigarette prices and adolescent smoking and associated disparities.

METHODS

We used nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional 2014-2020 Monitoring the Future study data (n = 20,547-96,083) to examine associations between state-level average cigarette price per pack and county-level T21 coverage (100% vs. < 100%) on past 30-day smoking participation, first and daily cigarette smoking initiation, and smoking intentions in US adolescents in eighth, 10th, and 12th grade. We implemented weighted, grade-stratified, modified Poisson regression models to test for interactions between price and T21 coverage for each outcome. We also tested for disparities by sex, race and ethnicity, parental education, and college educational expectations.

RESULTS

Higher cigarette prices were associated with a lower probability of past 30-day smoking participation among eighth graders in counties with < 100% T21 coverage (average marginal effect = -0.003, 95% confidence interval = -0.006, 0.000) but not among eighth graders in counties with 100% T21 coverage (average marginal effect = 0.001, 95% confidence interval = -0.001, 0.004) (p for interaction = 0.005). There were no associations with other smoking outcomes or grades or evidence of differential associations by sociodemographic factors.

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggested that higher cigarette prices were associated with lower adolescent smoking among eighth graders living in counties with < 100% T21 coverage. However, no such association was observed in other grades or smoking outcomes. Further investigation is necessary to determine the best combination of policies to reduce adolescent smoking, related sociodemographic disparities, and the use of other tobacco products in areas with fewer tobacco control policies.

Socio-economic inequalities in smoking and drinking in adolescence: Assessment of social network dynamics

AIMS

We investigated whether (1) adolescents selected friends with a similar socio-economic status (SES), (2) smoking and alcohol consumption spread in networks and (3) the exclusion of non-smokers or non-drinkers differed between SES groups.

DESIGN

This was a longitudinal study using stochastic actor-oriented models to analyze complete social network data over three waves.

SETTING

Eight Hungarian secondary schools with socio-economically diverse classes took part.

PARTICIPANTS

This study comprised 232 adolescents aged between 14 and 15 years in the first wave.

MEASUREMENTS

Self-reported smoking behavior, alcohol consumption behavior and friendship ties were measured. SES was measured based upon entitlement to an income-tested regular child protection benefit.

FINDINGS

Non-low-SES adolescents were most likely to form friendships with peers from their own SES group [odds ratio (OR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.11]. Adolescents adjusted their smoking behavior (OR = 24.05, 95% CI = 1.27-454.86) but not their alcohol consumption (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.62-4.39) to follow the behavior of their friends. Smokers did not differ from non-smokers in the likelihood of receiving a friendship nomination (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.87-1.10), regardless of their SES. Alcohol consumers received significantly more friendship nominations than non-consumers (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.01-1.33), but this association was not significantly different according to SES.

CONCLUSIONS

Hungarian adolescents appear to prefer friendships within their own socio-economic status group, and smoking and alcohol consumption spread within those friendship networks. Socio-economic groups do not differ in the extent to which they encourage smoking or alcohol consumption.

Adolescents' Drinking Behavior Off- and Online: Disentangling Exposure Effects and Selective Exposure in Networked Communication Structures

This article applies a network approach to better understand the often-demonstrated link between adolescents' drinking behavior and their exposure to alcohol-related content on social media. Focusing on social dynamics among adolescents and their peers, we investigate the causes and consequences of exposure to individual peers who share alcohol-related content online. Drawing on social network literature and the perspective of networked communication online, we distinguish between exposure effects and selective exposure as the two core dynamics that can explain the association between drinking behavior and exposure to alcohol-related content online. Based on a two-wave network survey among adolescents aged 14 to 17 (n = 277), we applied a longitudinal network analysis to test both dynamics simultaneously. The findings indicate no exposure effects but robust evidence for selective exposure. This means that drinking adolescents are more likely to become exposed to peers who post alcohol-related content. The stochastic actor-oriented model hereby controls for rivaling explanations, such as the tendency to be exposed to friends, classmates, and peers of the same gender. In addition to these empirical findings, we discuss the value of the network approach, outlining the implications for future research and prevention strategies.

Using Facebook language to predict and describe excessive alcohol use

BACKGROUND

Assessing risk for excessive alcohol use is important for applications ranging from recruitment into research studies to targeted public health messaging. Social media language provides an ecologically embedded source of information for assessing individuals who may be at risk for harmful drinking.

METHODS

Using data collected on 3664 respondents from the general population, we examine how accurately language used on social media classifies individuals as at-risk for alcohol problems based on Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption score benchmarks.

RESULTS

We find that social media language is moderately accurate (area under the curve = 0.75) at identifying individuals at risk for alcohol problems (i.e., hazardous drinking/alcohol use disorders) when used with models based on contextual word embeddings. High-risk alcohol use was predicted by individuals' usage of words related to alcohol, partying, informal expressions, swearing, and anger. Low-risk alcohol use was predicted by individuals' usage of social, affiliative, and faith-based words.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of social media data to study drinking behavior in the general public is promising and could eventually support primary and secondary prevention efforts among Americans whose at-risk drinking may have otherwise gone "under the radar."

The Moderating Role of Context: Relationships between Individual Behaviors and Social Networks

A social context can be viewed as an entity or unit around which a group of individuals organize their activities and interactions. Social contexts take such diverse forms as families, dwelling places, neighborhoods, classrooms, schools, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and sociocultural events or milieus. Understanding social contexts is essential for the study of individual behaviors, social networks, and the relationships between the two. Contexts shape individual behaviors by providing an avenue for non-dyadic conformity and socialization processes. The co-participation within a context affects personal relationships by acting as a focus for tie formation. Where participation in particular contexts confers status, this effect may also lead to differences in popularity within interpersonal networks. Social contexts may further play a moderating role in within-network influence and selection processes, providing circumstances that either amplify or suppress these effects. In this paper we investigate the joint role of co-participation via social contexts and dyadic interaction in shaping and being shaped by individual behaviors with the context of a U.S. high school. Implications for future study of social contexts are suggested.

The Explanation of Adolescent Delinquent Behaviors Based on Jessor's Problem Behavior Theory (PBT) in Iran: The Role of Individual Vulnerability, Opportunity Risk Availability, and Perceived Support

This study tested the generality of Problem Behavior Theory (PBT) in explaining adolescents' problem behavior in Iran. Data were collected from 392 adolescents (Mage = 15.97, SD = 1.12, 55.4% girls) who completed the Adolescent Health and Development Questionnaire (AHDQ) to assess the individual vulnerability, opportunity risk availability, perceived support, and delinquent behaviors. Results indicated that individual vulnerability and opportunity risk availability had a significant relationship with delinquent behaviors and a significant interaction with perceived support in their influence on delinquent behaviors. Further, perceived support was negatively associated with delinquent behaviors. Our results were consistent with PBT's explanatory model for adolescents' problem behavior in Western countries and are informative about problem behavior involvement among Iranian adolescents and the design of interventions.

Insight into Selecting Adolescents for Drinking Intervention Programs: a Simulation Based on Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models

Adolescent drinking remains a prominent public health and socioeconomic issue in the USA with costly consequences. While numerous drinking intervention programs have been developed, there is little guidance whether certain strategies of participant recruitment are more effective than others. The current study aims at addressing this gap in the literature using a computer simulation approach, a more cost-effective method than employing actual interventions. We first estimate stochastic actor-oriented models for two schools from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). We then employ different strategies for selecting adolescents for the intervention (either based on their drinking levels or their positions in the school network) and simulate the estimated model forward in time to assess the aggregated level of drinking in the school at a later time point. The results suggest that selecting moderate or heavy drinkers for the intervention produces better results compared to selecting casual or light drinkers. The intervention results are improved further if network position information is taken into account, as selecting drinking adolescents with higher in-degree or higher eigenvector centrality values for intervention yields the best results. Results from this study help elucidate participant selection criteria and targeted network intervention strategies for drinking intervention programs in the USA.

Peer influence in adolescent drinking behavior: A meta-analysis of stochastic actor-based modeling studies

Objectives

To measure the effects of peer influence and peer selection on drinking behavior in adolescence through a rigorous statistical approach designed to unravel these interrelated processes.

Methods

We conducted systematic searches of electronic databases, thesis collections and conference proceedings to identify studies that used longitudinal network design and stochastic actor-oriented modeling to analyze drinking behavior in adolescents. Parameter estimates collected from individual studies were analyzed using multilevel random-effects models.

Results

We identified 26 articles eligible for meta-analysis. Meta-analyses for different specifications of the peer influence effect were conducted separately. The peer influence effect was positive for every specification: for average similarity (avSim) mean log odds ratio was 1.27 with 95% confidence interval [0.04; 2.49]; for total similarity (totSim) 0.46 (95% CI = [0.44; 0.48]), and for average alter (avAlt) 0.70 (95% CI = [-0.01; 1.41]). The peer selection effect (simX) was also positive: 0.46 (95% CI = [0.28; 0.63]). Conversion log odds ratio values to Cohen’s d gives estimates from 0.25 to 0.70, which is considered as medium to large effect.

Conclusions

Advances in methodology for social network analysis have made it possible to accurately estimate peer influence effects free from peer selection effects. More research is necessary to clarify the roles of age, gender, and individual susceptibility on the changing behavior of adolescents under the influence of their peers. Understanding the effects of peer influence should inform practitioners and policy makers to design and deliver more effective prevention programs.

Smoking prevalence, core/periphery network positions, and peer influence: Findings from five datasets on US adolescents and young adults

Smoking prevalence has decreased significantly among US adolescents and young adults in the past 20 years. It is possible that adolescent and young adult smokers were moving from core to peripheral positions in social networks and thus less influential as suggested in previous research on adult smokers. We construct five sample datasets to test these hypotheses but none of them receives much support. When the proportion of smokers is relatively higher in two sample datasets, smokers tended to be at more marginal network positions than nonsmokers, both smokers and nonsmoker could exert peer influence, and the magnitude of peer influence from smokers was even greater than that from nonsmokers. When smoking was less frequent in the other three sample datasets, smokers and nonsmokers were at random network positions and no peer influence on smoking behavior was detected. Therefore, core/periphery network positions are still the key linking smoking prevalence and peer influence among US adolescents and young adults but operating through a different mechanism from their adult counterparts. When scientists design and conduct prevention programs against adolescent and young adult smoking behavior, core/periphery network positions, smoking prevalence, and peer influence should all be taken into consideration.

Perceived Social Acceptability and Longitudinal Trends in Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

The current study uses methods from social network analysis to predict longitudinal trends in adolescent cigarette smoking based on perceived social acceptability from friends, in addition to typical measures of peer influence (e.g., self-reported cigarette use of friends). By concurrently investigating the role of perceived social acceptability of smoking and peer influence, the current study offers new insight into the mechanisms through which peers influence adolescent smoking. Two waves of data from five high schools within one US school district (n = 1563) were used. Stochastic actor-based models simultaneously estimated changes in smoking predicted by perceived social acceptability and peer influence. Findings demonstrate that adolescents with higher perceived social acceptability of cigarette use increased cigarette smoking over time. Conversely, support for peer influence on smoking was not found after controlling for the effects of perceived social acceptability. The results suggest that perceived social acceptability regarding cigarette smoking rather than self-report of cigarette use among friends is predictive of future smoking behavior. Consequently, the findings highlight the need for prevention efforts to take into account the multifaceted dynamics between adolescent smoking and friendships. Programs that address peer influence alone, without considering peer mechanisms such as perceived social acceptability, are at risk of ignoring critical avenues for prevention.

The theory of planned behavior as a behavior change model for tobacco control strategies among adolescents in Botswana

Background

Behavioral intentions (motivational factors), attitudes, subjective norm (social pressures), and perceived behavioral control promote or discourage smoking behavior among adolescents.

Objective

To assess students’ behavioral intentions, attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control on smoking using the Theory of Planned Behavior. The prevalence of smoking among the adolescents is also calculated.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, structured self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from adolescents in primary and secondary schools. Data on demographics, behavioral intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control towards smoking were collected. Pearson product moment correlations and logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with current smoking.

Results

A total sample of 2554 (mean age = 15; Range = 12–18 years) students participated in the study. Twenty-nine percent (n = 728) of the students had tried smoking at least once. Smoking was predicted by attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and intention.There was a strong association between having a parent or guardian, caregiver or close friend who smoked (p < 0.001) and being a smoker. The majority of students (57%) conveyed that adults talked to them about the harmful effects of cigarette smoking and 50% had discussed smoking concerns with their friends. Students who had positive attitudes towards smoking like “smoking makes you confident” were more likely to be current smokers (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.03–2.59). The feeling or conviction that they could refuse a cigarette if offered was an impediment from smoking (OR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.13–0.26).

Conclusions

Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control contributed significantly to the students' smoking. Right attitudes must be cultivated and behavioral control must be strengthened for early effective interventions to curtail smoking among adolescents.

Mental health disorders and adolescent peer relationships

RATIONALE

Mental health disorders often arise during adolescence, with disruptive behavior disorders and anxiety disorders among the most common. Given the salience of peer relationships during adolescence, and research suggesting that mental health disorders negatively impact social functioning, this study uses novel methodology from social network analysis to uncover the social processes linking disruptive behavior disorders and anxiety disorders with adolescent friendships. In particular, the study focuses on peer withdrawal, peer popularity, and peer homophily in relation to both disorders.

METHODS

Data come from 15-year old students in four Scottish secondary schools (N = 602). Diagnoses of disruptive behavior disorders and anxiety disorders were produced using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, and peer relationship data were obtained through a friendship nomination survey. Exponential random graph models were used to estimate the probability of peer withdrawal, peer popularity, and peer homophily based on each disorder.

RESULTS

Results demonstrated that adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders were more popular than their peers without disruptive behavior disorders (OR: 1.47, CI: 1.20, 1.87). Friendship was also more likely between two adolescents both with or both without disruptive behavior disorders (OR: 1.26, CI: 1.07, 1.47), demonstrating peer homophily. There was no evidence that anxiety disorders were related to adolescent peer relationships.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study suggest that disruptive behavior disorders may be socially rewarded (e.g., peer popularity) and socially clustered (e.g., homophily), whereas anxiety disorders show no such trends. Thus, intervention efforts must account for the peer social status that may be gained from engaging in disruptive behavior during this developmental period. Further, given that similarity in DBD status is associated with an increased likelihood of friendship, adolescents are likely to be surrounded by peers who reinforce their behaviors.

Drinking, smoking and type a polydrug behaviours: Psychosocial factors among Portuguese university students

Aim

This paper aims to describe alcohol, tobacco and type A polydrug consumption among university students.

Method

A cross-sectional study was performed. Through a convenience sampling, a total of 338 were included (51.8% male with a mean age of 20.6 years, SD = 3.4). Data was collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed by sociodemographic and substance consumption and behaviours variables. Spearman's correlation coefficients were assessed to measure the strength and direction of the association between sociodemographic and substance consumption variables. To evaluate type A polydrug consumption, multivariate logistic regression models were performed.

Results

It was observed significant correlations between tobacco consumption with cannabis and alcohol involvement, and coping, conformity, social, enhancement drinking motives. About alcohol consumption, there were observed relations with students’ social environment, and with enhancement, conformity and social drinking motives. Regarding sociodemographic factors on type A polydrug consumption it was verified that students who have parents and friends who smoke are more likely to polydrug.

Conclusion

Findings suggest that interventions focused on substance consumption may need to address descriptive and injunctive norms, drinking motives and social environment as part of the student’s consumption behaviours.

Peer social network processes and adolescent health behaviors: A systematic review

Research has highlighted the importance of peers for determining health behaviors in adolescents, yet these behaviors have typically been investigated in isolation. We need to understand common network processes operating across health behaviors collectively, in order to discern how social network processes impact health behaviors. Thus, this systematic review of studies investigated adolescent peer social networks and health behaviors. A search of six databases (CINAHL, Education Resources Information Centre, Embase, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Medline and PsycINFO) identified 55 eligible studies. The mean age of the participants was 15.1 years (range 13-18; 51.1% female). Study samples ranged from 143 to 20,745 participants. Studies investigated drinking (31%), smoking (22%), both drinking and smoking (13%) substance use (18%), physical activity (9%) and diet or weight management (7%). Study design was largely longitudinal (n = 41, 73%) and cross-sectional (n = 14, 25%). All studies were set in school and all but one study focused on school-based friendship networks. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess risk of bias: studies were assessed as good (51%), fair (16%) or poor (33%). The synthesis of results revolved around two network behavior patterns: 1) health behavior similarity within a social network, driven by homophilic social selection and/or social influence, and 2) popularity: health behavior engagement in relation to changes in social status; or network popularity predicting health behaviors. Adolescents in denser networks had statistically significant lower levels of harmful behavior (n = 2/2, 100%). Findings suggest that social network processes are important factors in adolescent health behaviors.

Parents modelling, peer influence and peer selection impact on adolescent smoking behavior: A longitudinal study in two age cohorts

Understanding the key factors that influence smoking behavior, especially during adolescence, has a meaningful impact on public health. This study examined the impact of parent modelling, peer influence and peer selection on adolescent smoking behavior in two Portuguese cohorts followed for three years. A questionnaire was delivered in classes and schools randomly selected, three times, one per year (cohort1: time1-7th, time2-8th, time3-9th; cohort2: time1-10th, time2-11th, time3-12th graders). The sample included a total of 656 students (402 younger [time1 Mage = 13.17, SD = 0.53, 63.7% girls;] and 254 older [time 1 Mage = 16.20, SD = 0.53, 65% girls]). Longitudinal data were examined through an autoregressive cross-lagged model (ARCL). The model explained 35% of the variance in smoking behavior at T3 for the global sample (4% for the younger and 58% for the older). Over time, in both cohorts, the percentage of never smokers decreased sharply and the percentage of regular smokers increased rapidly. We observed that participants in the older cohort had higher chances of smoking if their parents smoked. Nevertheless, we did not find a parental modelling effect in the longitudinal model. Peer influence and peer selection influenced smoking behavior. However, peer selection influenced the youngest group, both processes influenced the middle age group, and only peer influence influenced the oldest. Best friend and friends had a stronger impact on the younger while friends and same grade students had a stronger impact on the older. Prevention programs should regard these differences of interpersonal influences through adolescent development and specific strategies for different age groups should be considered.

Multi-Dimensional Factors Associated with Illegal Substance Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Taiwan

Illegal substance use in sexual minorities is an important health issue worldwide. The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the multi-dimensional factors associated with illegal substance use among gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. This questionnaire-survey study recruited 500 gay or bisexual men aged between 20 and 25 years. Their experiences of using eight kinds of illegal substances in the preceding month were collected. Their previous experiences of homophobic bullying, satisfaction with academic performance, truancy, perceived family and peer support in childhood and adolescence, and social-demographic characteristics, were also collected. Potential factors associated with illegal substance use were identified using univariate logistic regression, and further selected into a forward stepwise logistic regression model to identify the factors most significantly related to illegal substance use. A total of 22 (4.4%) participants reported illegal substance use in the preceding month, and mean age was 22.9 ± 1.6. Forward stepwise logistic regression revealed that being victims of homophobic cyberbullying in childhood and adolescence (odds ratio (OR) = 1.26; p = 0.011), disclosure of sexual orientation at junior high school (OR = 4.67; p = 0.001), and missing classes or truancy in senior high school (OR = 2.52; p = 0.041) were significantly associated with illegal substance use in early adulthood. Multi-dimensional factors in childhood and adolescence that were significantly associated with illegal substance use in early adulthood among gay and bisexual men were identified. Besides traditional bullying, the effect of cyberbullying and school performance on illegal substance use should not be ignored. This study is limited to the cross-sectional design and possible recall bias. Mental health professionals must routinely assess these significant factors to prevent and intervene in illegal substance use among gay and bisexual men.

"I'm Scared of the Disappointment": Young Adult Smokers' Relational Identity Gaps and Management Strategies as Sites of Communication Intervention

While cigarette smoking is decreasing among young adults, rates of nicotine consumption through other devices, most notably electronic cigarettes, are on the rise. Framed by communication theory of identity, this study examines young adult smokers' experiences with relational others in regard to their smoking. Focus group discussions and individual interviews convened with 20 young adult cigarette and electronic cigarette smokers revealed identity gaps implicating the relational layer of identity, including personal-relational, enacted-relational, and personal-enacted-relational identity gaps. Participants used communicative and behavioral strategies to manage relational discrepancies. The documented identity gaps and management strategies present opportunities for targeted smoking cessation interventions that amplify dissonance created through identity gaps as a motivational tactic.

Parental involvement and adolescent smoking in vocational setting in Finland

The present study examined whether parental involvement in their adolescents' lives is associated with adolescent smoking in a vocational school setting when controlling for socioeconomic background and parental smoking. The study was conducted in spring 2013 and involved 34 776 Finnish vocational school students (mean age 17.6 years). The data were analyzed using multinomial regression. The results showed that lower parental involvement was significantly associated with adolescent daily smoking in both genders and with occasional smoking in girls. Parental daily smoking predicted adolescent daily smoking, and this association was also seen for those adolescents whose mother and father had quitted smoking. Furthermore, our results indicate that mothers' smoking may be more influential on adolescents' smoking than fathers' smoking. Multivariate analysis showed that living in a nuclear family or alternately with both parents in two homes decreased daily smoking in both genders compared to living in other family arrangements.

Beyond Sleep Duration: Bidirectional Associations Among Chronotype, Social Jetlag, and Drinking Behaviors in a Longitudinal Sample of US High School Students

Inadequate sleep and problematic drinking are prevalent among high school students and are significant public health issues. Inadequate sleep may contribute to alcohol use through impairments in emotion regulation or cognitive functioning, whereas alcohol use may lead to inadequate sleep through the biological effects of alcohol or social influences. However, the directionality of the associations between sleep and drinking variables remains unclear as most prior studies were cross-sectional. This study utilizes longitudinal data from the NEXT Generation Health Study to examine bidirectional associations between alcohol use and sleep adequacy in a nationally representative sample across 3 years of high school. Students reported usual bedtimes and waketimes for scheduled- and free-days, alcohol use, and heavy episodic drinking. Estimates of sleep duration, chronotype, and social jetlag were calculated. Cross-lagged autoregressive models revealed evidence of alcohol use predicting subsequent sleep duration and timing, and sleep timing predicting subsequent alcohol use. Specifically, previous-wave alcohol use predicted shorter free-day sleep duration and later chronotype at 11th and 12th grade, and more social jetlag at 12th grade; similar results were obtained for heavy episodic drinking. Eleventh grade social jetlag predicted subsequent year current alcohol use; eleventh grade chronotype and social jetlag predicted subsequent year heavy episodic drinking. Bidirectional findings suggest that alcohol use and sleep may reflect mutually reinforcing life style choices. Understanding these bidirectional associations could inform risk prevention interventions. Given the implications of poor sleep for adolescents, further research on possible social influences on the alcohol-sleep relations is merited. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT01031160.

Simulating drinking in social networks to inform alcohol prevention and treatment efforts

Adolescent drinking influences, and is influenced by, peer alcohol use. Several efficacious adolescent alcohol interventions include elements aimed at reducing susceptibility to peer influence. Modeling these interventions within dynamically changing social networks may improve our understanding of how such interventions work and for whom they work best. We used stochastic actor-based models to simulate longitudinal drinking and friendship formation within social networks using parameters obtained from a meta-analysis of real-world 10th grade adolescent social networks. Levels of social influence (i.e., friends affecting changes in one's drinking) and social selection (i.e., drinking affecting changes in one's friendships) were manipulated at several levels, which directly impacted the degree of clustering in friendships based on similarity in drinking behavior. Midway through each simulation, one randomly selected heavy-drinking actor from each network received an "intervention" that either (a) reduced their susceptibility to social influence, (b) reduced their susceptibility to social selection, (c) eliminated a friendship with a heavy drinker, or (d) initiated a friendship with a nondrinker. Only the intervention that eliminated targeted actors' susceptibility to social influence consistently reduced that actor's drinking. Moreover, this was only effective in networks with social influence and social selection that were at higher levels than what was found in the real-world reference study. Social influence and social selection are dynamic processes that can lead to complex systems that may moderate the effectiveness of network-based interventions. Interventions that reduce susceptibility to social influence may be most effective among adolescents with high susceptibility to social influence and heavier-drinking friends. (PsycINFO Database Record

Dimensions of Peer Influences and Their Relationship to Adolescents' Aggression, Other Problem Behaviors and Prosocial Behavior

Although peers are a major influence during adolescence, the relative importance of specific mechanisms of peer influence on the development of problem behavior is not well understood. This study investigated five domains of peer influence and their relationships to adolescents' problem and prosocial behaviors. Self-report and teacher ratings were obtained for 1787 (53 % female) urban middle school students. Peer pressure for fighting and friends' delinquent behavior were uniquely associated with aggression, drug use and delinquent behavior. Friends' prosocial behavior was uniquely associated with prosocial behavior. Friends' support for fighting and friends' support for nonviolence were not as clearly related to behavior. Findings were generally consistent across gender. This study highlights the importance of studying multiple aspects of peer influences on adolescents' behavior.

Peer Influence, Peer Selection and Adolescent Alcohol Use: a Simulation Study Using a Dynamic Network Model of Friendship Ties and Alcohol Use

While studies suggest that peer influence can in some cases encourage adolescent substance use, recent work demonstrates that peer influence may be on average protective for cigarette smoking, raising questions about whether this effect occurs for other substance use behaviors. Herein, we focus on adolescent drinking, which may follow different social dynamics than smoking. We use a data-calibrated Stochastic Actor-Based (SAB) Model of adolescent friendship tie choice and drinking behavior to explore the impact of manipulating the size of peer influence and selection effects on drinking in two school-based networks. We first fit a SAB Model to data on friendship tie choice and adolescent drinking behavior within two large schools (n = 2178 and n = 976) over three time points using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We then alter the size of the peer influence and selection parameters with all other effects fixed at their estimated values and simulate the social systems forward 1000 times under varying conditions. Whereas peer selection appears to contribute to drinking behavior similarity among adolescents, there is no evidence that it leads to higher levels of drinking at the school level. A stronger peer influence effect lowers the overall level of drinking in both schools. There are many similarities in the patterning of findings between this study of drinking and previous work on smoking, suggesting that peer influence and selection may function similarly with respect to these substances.