Perception of friends' use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana among urban schoolchildren: a longitudinal analysis.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Relations between adolescents' substance use and perceptions of their friends' substance use were examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a predominantly African-American school district. Fourth- and fifth-grade students were surveyed and tracked for 4 consecutive years. Cross-sectional samples included 3,073, 5,955, 7,701, and 6,616 students in years 1 to 4, respectively; the longitudinal sample included 1,802 students surveyed in every year. Self-reported substance use of friends and classmates also was assessed. Perceived friends' substance use had a stronger association with prior substance use than friends' self-reported substance use in every year. Perceived family use and classmates' self-reported use also made independent contributions to regression models. Longitudinal structural equation analyses indicated that perceived friends' use is more likely to be a product of an adolescent's previous substance use than a precursor of subsequent substance use. The findings contradict prevailing theories on the influence of peers on substance use.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Iannotti, RJ; Bush, PJ; Weinfurt, KP
Published Date
- 1996
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 21 / 5
Start / End Page
- 615 - 632
PubMed ID
- 8876761
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0306-4603
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/0306-4603(95)00086-0
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- England