title: How Strong is the "Fake ID Effect?" An Examination Using Propensity Score Matching in Two Samples.
abstract: Underage college students who obtain and use false identification (fake ID) are at risk for negative outcomes. However, it is currently unclear how uniquely the fake ID itself serves as a vehicle to subsequent harm (i.e., the "fake ID effect") over and above general and trait-related risk factors (e.g., deviant peers, low self-control).
  
  
  
  To investigate whether the "fake ID effect" would hold after accounting for phenotypic risk, we utilized propensity score matching (PSM) in a cross-sectional sample of 1,454 students, and a longitudinal replication sample of 3,720 undergraduates. Individuals with a fake ID were matched with individuals without a fake ID, in terms of a number of trait-based and social risk factors. These matched groups were then compared on 5 problematic outcomes (i.e., frequent binge drinking, alcohol-related problems, arrests, marijuana use, and hard drug use).
  
  
  
  Findings showed that "fake ID effects" were substantially-although not fully-diminished following PSM. The "fake ID effect" remained strongest for alcohol-related arrests. This may relate to issues of enforcement and students' willingness to engage in deviant behavior with a fake ID, or it may be a function of combined processes.
  
  
  
  Overall, the findings suggest that interventions should not only be aimed at reducing the fake ID-related alcohol access specifically, but should also be aimed more generally toward at-risk youths' access to alcohol. Future research might examine whether fake IDs have their strongest potency as moderators of the effects of risky traits-such as impulsiveness-on drinking outcomes.
authors: The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina.
authors: John
authors: 0000-0003-2821-1494
authors: J
authors: Stogner
authors: Department of Psychology, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York.
authors: Julia A
authors: JA
authors: Martinez
authors: The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia.
authors: Bryan Lee
authors: BL
authors: Miller
authors: The Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri and the Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, Missouri.
authors: Kenneth J
authors: KJ
authors: Sher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067292:Alcohol Drinking in College / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D008192:Deception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057216:Propensity Score; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D000066608:Underage Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Binge Drinking; Fake IDs; False Identification; Heavy Episodic Drinking; Underage Alcohol Use