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…

Although many economic analyses of adolescents have examined the costs of risky behaviors, few have investigated the gains that young people derive from such actions, particularly in terms of social payoffs for complying with peer behavior. This paper studies the relationship between adolescents' use of alcohol (relative to that of their peers)…

Injunctive norms, or perceived peer approval of drinking is a potentially important influence on college student drinking. Few studies on college student drinking have attended to injunctive norms during the first few months of college. Longitudinal data from 534 first semester freshmen are used to describe the contributions of injunctive norms to…

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…

Background: Excessive alcohol consumption by underage students is a serious and persistent problem facing most U.S. colleges and universities. Purpose: This qualitative study explores why underage students engage in high-risk drinking and examines motivational cues that may serve as behavioral deterrents. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with…

Sociometric nominations, social cognitive maps, and self-report questionnaires were completed in consecutive years by 327 students (56% girls) followed longitudinally from grade 7 to grade 8 to examine the stability of social standing in peer groups and correlates of changes in social standing. Social preference, perceived popularity, network…

Longitudinal associations between social preference, perceived popularity, and risk behaviors (smoking, alcohol use, and sexual activity) were examined in a sample of high school students. Social preference did not predict any of the risk behaviors assessed, although the interaction between gender and social preference was predictive of sexual…

The purpose of the present study was to examine how peer group processes of pressure and control and individual motivations for popularity would add to, and moderate the relationship between, childhood maltreatment and risky behavior in adolescence. A total of 1558 youth (804 girls) from three high schools in Ontario, Canada (M age = 15.02 years,…

Network position ("isolate," "member," "liaison"), peer-group substance use, and their interaction were examined as predictors of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use in a sample of 163 urban sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Two measures of peer substance use were compared: one based on social network analysis…

This exploratory study investigates whether associations between social network measures and substance use differ according to type of substance and social context. The analyses use data obtained from 13 and 15 year olds (N=3146) in a school-based survey and focus on three social network measures: sociometric position (e.g. group, dyad, isolate);…