Comparing perceptions of how many peers' and friends' use alcohol: Associations with middle adolescents' own alcohol use

Background. Although adolescents’ perceptions of alcohol use by their peers’ and friends are both associated with their own use, researchers have not always assessed these constructs separately. The current study distinguishes between adolescents’ perceptions of their peers’ and friends’ alcohol use, allowing for an examination of their unique and combined influence on alcohol use.

Methods. Data are from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N =814, all age 15). Adolescents reported on a) perceptions of how many teens their age have ever and regularly consume alcohol, b) how many of their friends, they believe, have ever consumed alcohol, and c) their own alcohol use in the last year. Data were analyzed with hierarchical logistic regression, controlling for demographics and maternal warmth.

Results. Entered in separate steps, perceiving more peers, OR = 1.18, p< .05, and friends, OR = 11.44, p < .000, use alcohol were both associated with adolescent alcohol use. A significant interaction revealed that regardless of perceiving a high or low amount of peers use alcohol; perceiving more friends use alcohol was associated with a greater but perceiving fewer friends use alcohol was associated with a lower likelihood of alcohol use.

Conclusions. Although adolescents’ perceptions of both the amount of peers and friends use alcohol were associated with past year alcohol consumption, perceptions of friends’ alcohol use appear more influential. Therefore, prevention efforts that reduce friend use norms and/or alcohol use by friends may be effective at decreasing adolescent alcohol use.