Higher accepted friends are known to influence the alcohol misuse of lower accepted friends, but not the reverse. The present study was designed to address the origins of this influence: Are higher accepted friends particularly "influential" or are lower accepted friends particularly "susceptible" to influence? To address this…

This study assessed the prevalence of verbally being put down by others and intrapersonal and normative factors associated with being put down by others among middle and high school students. Students (N = 1,027) completed the Adolescent Health Risk Behavior Survey. Over 16% of participants reported being put down at school. Students who…

This study investigated the social status (i.e., popularity, likeability, and friendships) of adolescents with an early onset of externalizing behavior (i.e., alcohol use, tobacco use, and antisocial behavior). Building on Moffitt's dual-taxonomy model, it was hypothesized that early onset adolescents were more popular, but not necessarily more…

Associations of popularity with adolescent substance use were examined among 1793 6-8th grade students who completed an in-school survey. Popularity was assessed through both self-ratings and peer nominations. Students who scored higher on either measure of popularity were more likely to be lifetime cigarette smokers, drinkers, and marijuana…

Few after-school programs target alcohol and other drug (AOD) use because it is difficult to encourage a diverse group of youth to voluntarily attend. The current study describes CHOICE, a voluntary after-school program which targeted AOD use among middle school students. Over 4,000 students across eight schools completed surveys and 15%…

This cross-sectional study investigated the bivariate and more fully controlled (with socio-demographic measures) relationship between self-reported drinking behaviour and peer pressure susceptibility, desire for peer popularity and general conformity in a sample of 11-16-year-old school children in Northern Ireland. Self-reported drinking…