In the present study, we considered the utility of the prototype/willingness model in predicting alcohol use among North-American Indigenous adolescents. Specifically, using longitudinal data, we examined the associations among subjective drinking norms, positive drinker prototypes, drinking expectations (as a proxy of drinking willingness), and…

Background: Social norm interventions have been implemented in schools to address concerns of alcohol use among high school students; however, research in this area has not incorporated measures of variability that may better reflect the complexity of social influences. Purpose: To examine the association between perceived alcohol norms, the…

The purpose of this study is to challenge the discourse that underage drinking is inevitably "deviant." Rather than imposing an adultist lens, the article draws upon focus-group interviews with 14-15 year olds. The meaningful role of drinking is explored, along with the capability of peer cultures to manage some alcohol-related "risks." The data…

AIDS is the leading killer of African Americans between the ages of 25 and 44, many of whom became infected when they were teenagers or young adults. The disparity in HIV infection rate among African Americans youth residing in rural Southern regions of the United States suggests that there is an urgent need to identify ways to promote early…

Risk taking may be regarded as a normative behavior in adolescence. Risk-taking behaviors may include alcohol, smoking, drug use, delinquency, and acts of aggression. Many studies have explored the relationship between adolescents and risk-taking behavior; however, only a few studies have examined this link in adolescents with learning…

Found that social control indicators (attachment to conventional institutions, commitment to conventional goals, involvement in conventional activities, and belief in conventional norms) predicted adolescent alcohol and drug use. However, peer relationships with drug users was the most significant predictor of drug involvement. (Author/MJL)

Suggests that (1) parents and peers influence adolescents through the expression of normative standards or the modeling of behaviors; (2) adolescents respond to such pressure directly or by internalizing norms or preferences for conduct; and (3) pressures, norms, and preferences have different effects on adolescent behavior, depending on the topic…

Assessed the relative influence of peer norms and parental involvement on adolescent cigarette and alcohol use. Surveys of secondary school students indicated that the relative balance of peer-parent influences did not differ across grades. In all grades, perceived peer norms had substantially greater correlations with cigarette and alcohol use…

This study examined whether a comprehensive set of psychosocial factors was equally predictive of both adolescent vaginal intercourse and oral sex among 1,105 adolescents aged 12-16. Logistic regressions were used to examine the relationships between parental communication, religiosity, bonding to school, heavy drinking, sex expectancies,…

Explores the relationship between college students' self-reports of adolescent substance use and scores on indices tapping different aspects of guilt. Results suggest that a stronger internalization of societal standards, as reflected by higher scores on Standards and Situational Guilt, may prove a useful tool in the prevention of substance use.…

Alcohol use and abuse has received extensive attention, with recent concerns focused on the use and abuse of alcohol by adolescents and young adults. Alcohol use has become one of the major rituals in the rites of passage from childhood to adulthood. Anthropologists have documented the importance of rites of passage rituals for marking the…

Surveyed secondary school students regarding their perceptions of college student drinking. Most 7th graders had normative perceptions of collegiate drinking. Adolescent substance use most closely related to peer norms. Perceptions of collegiate drinking independently related to alcohol use intensity, drinking onset, and indicators of tobacco and…

Adolescents tend to overestimate peer drinking; the resulting misperception of the social norm predicts the child's own future drinking. This study examined the misperception's relatedness to a person's drinking pattern in order to facilitate the segmentation of the audience for health education interventions. Adolescent Health and Lifestyle…