title: Influence of grade-level drinking norms on individual drinking behavior.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate which points of the middle-school drinking distribution are the most influential in the social contagion of drinking across the middle-school years, in order to identify potential social multipliers.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured drinking intentions and  behaviors by gender, school, and grade among urban middle-school students who participated in Project Northland Chicago in a longitudinal cohort design.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individual drinking behaviors were consistently influenced by extreme (80(th) percentile) drinking intentions and  behaviors. This effect was mediated through normal or average levels of drinking, over time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interventions can target extreme drinkers as the influential persons in middle-school grades.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Yarnell
authors.forename: H Shelton
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Keryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Pasch
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Kelli A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Komro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010379:Peer Group; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*