The moderation of adolescent-to-peer similarity in tobacco and alcohol use by school levels of substance use.
Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined the impact of school-level smoking and drinking on adolescent-peer similarity for smoking and drinking. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that adolescent-peer similarity was significantly moderated by school-level substance use for both tobacco and alcohol use. For tobacco, similarity between adolescent and peer use increased from .18 in the lower quartile of tobacco-using schools to .44 in the upper quartile of tobacco-using schools. Corresponding similarities for alcohol use ranged from .25 to .34. These results suggest that schools with relatively few substance-using peers provide less opportunities for adolescents to pick niches that expose them to risk factors that correspond to their own substance-use behaviors.
Cleveland
H Harrington
HH
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Las Vegas 89154, USA. bo.cleveland@ccmail.nevada.edu
Wiebe
Richard P
RP
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012574:Schools; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*