title: Smoking and drinking among 15-16-year-old girls: do male peers have an influence?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  During adolescence, people tend to begin drinking alcohol and become involved in the culture that surrounds it.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the influence of peer relationships among females in mixed-sex schools versus single-sex schools on cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out in four schools. The information was collected by means of a questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and forty-eight questionnaires were completed. Of those questioned in single-sex schools, 34% had smoked a cigarette compared with 61% in mixed-sex schools (p < 0.005). The lifetime prevalence of alcohol consumption in mixed-sex schools was 88% compared with 73% in single-sex schools (p < 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that females in mixed-sex schools have a tendency to have earlier exposure to smoking and alcohol consumption than girls of the same age in single-sex schools.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Curtin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires