title: What do high school students say when they talk to their friends about substance use? Exploring the content of substance-use-specific communication with friends.
abstract: In this study, we examined the content of adolescents' conversations with their friends about substance use, adolescents' reactions to such conversations, and reasons why some adolescents did not engage in such conversations. Based on 25 semistructured interviews with high school students, we identified three themes: informational, persuasive, and relational messages. Informational messages included discussing how many peers use substances and clarifying rumors about a friend's substance use. Persuasive messages involved direct anti-substance-use messages (e.g., warning), direct pro-substance-use messages (e.g., legalizing marijuana), indirect anti-substance-use messages (e.g., disliking their substance-use experience), and indirect pro-substance-use messages (e.g., intentions to use substances). Relational messages included joking about substance use and establishing code words for use. Adolescents reacted to their conversations in several ways, such as shock and increased relational closeness. When adolescents did not talk about substance use with their friend, they offered several reasons, including low response efficacy and fear of ruining the friendship.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication , University of California , Santa Barbara.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kam
authors.affiliation: b Department of Advertising , STEM Translational Communication Research Program, University of Florida.
authors.forename: Janice L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.affiliation: c Department of Communication , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
authors.forename: Erin D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Basinger
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication , University of California , Santa Barbara.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Figueroa-Caballero
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois / Q000453:epidemiology; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014705:Verbal Behavior