title: Alcohol consumption and social network ties among adolescents: evidence from Add Health.
abstract: Although many studies have estimated the influence of peers on risky health behaviors, few have estimated the gains that adolescents receive from such behaviors, particularly in terms of social payoffs for complying with peer behavior. In this paper, we explore the extent to which alcohol consumption increases popularity of adolescents. Using data from a nationally-representative sample of adolescents, we estimate endogeneity-corrected models with school-level fixed effects to identify the effect of alcohol consumption on social network ties. We find that alcohol consumption leads to an increase in popularity, with the largest gains experienced by white males and females. Our results provide new evidence on the motivation behind adolescent drinking and have important implications for substance abuse interventions.
authors.affiliation: Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services AdministrationAnalysis & Services Research Branch1 Choke Cherry RoadRockville, MD 20857. Electronic address: mir.ali@samhsa.hhs.gov.
authors.forename: Mir M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: University of Toledo, Department of Economics, OH, USA. Electronic address: Aliaksandr.Amialchuk@utoledo.edu.
authors.forename: Aliaksandr
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amialchuk
authors.affiliation: Texas Christian University, Department of Economics, TX, USA. Electronic address: s.nikaj@tcu.edu.
authors.forename: Silda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikaj
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology
keywords: Adolescents; Alcohol; Social networks