Abstract
Adolescent friendship groups are often heterogeneous and thus involve exposure to both deviant and nondeviant influences. This longitudinal study examined whether the addition of nondeviant peer influences in early high school protected against the negative socialization effects of deviant affiliation on both concurrent and future smoking, alcohol problems, and depressive symptomatology. Adolescents (9th and 10th grade students, N = 1,128) completed self-report questionnaires at both a baseline and 24-month assessment. Nondeviant affiliation consistently reduced the effects of deviant influences on smoking and alcohol problems but not on depressive symptoms. Findings reinforce the complexity of adolescent friendship influences and the notion that distinct mechanisms may drive the associations between deviant affiliations and behavioral and emotional outcomes throughout adolescence. Implications for prevention are also discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Arnett, J. J. (1999). Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American Psychologist, 54, 317–326. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.5.317.
Audrain-McGovern, J., Rodriguez, D., Tercyak, K.P., Cuevas, J., Rodgers, K., & Patterson, F. (2004). Identifying and characterizing adolescent smoking trajectories. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, 13, 2023–2034. Retrieved from http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/
Brechwald, W. A., & Prinstein, M. J. (2011). Beyond homophily: A decade of advances in understanding peer influence processes. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 166–179. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00721.x.
Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., & Bukowski, W. M. (2000a). Deviant friends and early adolescents’ emotional and behavioral adjustment. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 10, 173–189. doi:10.1207/SJRA1002_3.
Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., & Bukowski, W. M. (2000b). Stability and variability of adolescents’ affiliation with delinquent friends: Predictors and consequences. Social Development, 9, 205–225. doi:10.1111/1467-9507.00120.
Chassin, L., Presson, C. C., Pitts, S., & Sherman, S. J. (2000). The natural history of cigarette smoking from adolescence to adulthood in a midwestern community sample: Multiple trajectories and their psychosocial correlates. Health Psychology, 19, 223–231. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.19.3.223.
Connell, A. M., & Dishion, T. J. (2006). The contribution of peers to monthly variation in adolescent depressed mood: A short-term longitudinal study with time-varying predictors. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 139–154. doi:10.1017/S0954579406060081.
Cook, T. D., Deng, Y., & Morgano, E. (2007). Friendship influences during early adolescence: The special role of friends’ grade point average. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17, 325–356. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2007.00525.x.
Costello, D. M., Dierker, L. C., Jones, B. L., & Rose, J. S. (2008a). Trajectories of smoking from adolescence to early adulthood and their psychosocial risk factors. Health Psychology, 27, 811–818. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.27.6.811.
Costello, D. M., Swendsen, J., Rose, J. S., & Dierker, L. C. (2008b). Risk and protective factors associated with trajectories of depressed mood from adolescence to early adulthood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 173–183. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.76.2.173.
Crosnoe, R., & Needham, B. (2004). Holism, contextual variability, and the study of friendships in adolescent development. Child Development, 75, 264–279. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00668.x.
Dishion, T. J., & Owen, L. D. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of friendships and substance use: Bidirectional influence from adolescence to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 38, 480–491. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.4.480.
Duncan, S. C., Duncan, T. E., & Strycker, L. A. (2006). Alcohol use from ages 9 to 16: A cohort-sequential latent growth model. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 81, 71–81. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2005.06.001.
Feldstein, S. W., & Miller, W. R. (2006). Substance use and risk-taking among adolescents. Journal of Mental Health, 15, 633–643. doi:10.1080/09638230600998896.
Fergusson, D. M., Beautrais, A. L., & Horwood, L. J. (2003a). Vulnerability and resiliency to suicidal behaviours in young people. Psychological Medicine, 33, 61–73. doi:10.1017/s0033291702006748.
Fergusson, D. M., Wanner, B., Vitaro, F., Horwood, L. J., & Swain-Campbell, N. (2003b). Deviant peer affiliations and depression: Confounding or causation? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 605–618. doi:10.1023/A:1026258106540.
Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2005). Developmental benefits of extracurricular involvement: Do peer characteristics mediate the link between activities and youth outcomes? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 507–520. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-8933-5.
Garber, J., Keiley, M. K., & Martin, N. C. (2002). Developmental trajectories of adolescents’ depressive symptoms: Predictors of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 79–95. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.70.1.79.
Gifford-Smith, M., Dodge, K. A., Dishion, T. J., & McCord, J. (2005). Peer influence in children and adolescence: Crossing the bridge from developmental to intervention science. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 255–265. doi:10.1007/s10802-005-3563-7.
Haynie, D. L. (2002). Friendship networks and delinquency: The relative nature of peer delinquency. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18, 99–134. doi:10.1023/A:1015227414929.
Hoffman, B. R., Monge, P. R., Chou, C. P., & Valente, T. W. (2007). Perceived peer influence and peer selection on adolescent smoking. Addictive Behaviors, 32, 1546–1554. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.11.016.
Hussong, A. M. (2002). Differentiating peer contexts and risk for adolescent substance use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 207–220. doi:10.1023/A:1015085203097.
Iannotti, R.J., & Bush, P.J. (1992). Perceived vs. actual friends’ use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and cocaine: Which has the most influence? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 21, 375–389. doi:10.1007/BF01537024
Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., & Schulenberg, J.E. (2009). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2008: Volume I, Secondary school students (NIH Publication No. 097402). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from http://monitoringthefuture.org/
Kassel, J. D., Weinstein, S., Skitch, S. A., Veilleux, J., & Mermelstein, R. (2005). The development of substance abuse in adolescence: Correlates, causes, and consequences. In B. L. Hankin & J. R. Z. Abela (Eds.), Development of psychopathology: A vulnerability-stress perspective (pp. 355–384). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Kobus, K. (2003). Peers and adolescent smoking. Addiction, 98(Supplement 1), 37–55. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.98.s1.4.x.
Larson, R., Moneta, G., Richards, M. H., & Wilson, S. (2002). Continuity, stability, and change in daily emotional experience across adolescence. Child Development, 73, 1151–1165. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00464.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., & Seeley, J. R. (1998). Major depressive disorder in older adolescents: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications. Clinical Psychology Review, 18, 765–794. doi:10.1016/S0272-7358(98)00010-5.
Li, F., Barrera, M., Hops, H., & Fisher, K. J. (2002). The longitudinal influence of peers on the development of alcohol use in late adolescence: A growth mixture analysis. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 25, 293–315. doi:10.1023/A:1015336929122.
Marcus, R. F. (1996). The friendships of delinquents. Adolescence, 31, 145–158.
McMahon, T. J., & Luthar, S. S. (2006). Patterns and correlates of substance use among affluent, suburban, high school students. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 72–89. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3501_7.
Mermelstein, R., Cohen, S., Lichtenstein, E., Baer, J., & Kamarck, T. (1986). Social support and smoking cessation and maintenance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 447–453. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.54.4.447.
Mermelstein, R., Colby, S.M., Patten, C., Prokhorov, A., Brown, R., Myers, M., Adelman, W., Hudmon, K., & McDonald, P. (2002). Methodological issues in measuring treatment outcome in adolescent smoking cessation studies. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 4, 395–403. doi:10.1080/1462220021000018470
Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Bean, R. A. (2009). Negative and positive peer influence: Relations to positive and negative behaviors for African American, European American, and Hispanic adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 32, 323–337. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.02.003.
Prinstein, M. J., Boergers, J., & Spirito, A. (2001). Adolescents’ and their friends’ health-risk behavior: Factors that alter or add to peer influence. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 26, 287–298. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/26.5.287.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. doi:10.1177/014662167700100306.
Simons-Morton, B., Haynie, D. L., Crump, A. D., Eitel, P., & Saylor, K. E. (2001). Peer and parent influences on smoking and drinking among early adolescents. Health Education & Behavior, 28, 95–107. doi:10.1177/109019810102800109.
Smetana, J. G., Campione-Barr, N., & Metzger, A. (2006). Adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 255–284. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190124.
Stice, E., Myers, M. G., & Brown, S. A. (1998). A longitudinal grouping analysis of adolescent substance use escalation and de-escalation. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 12, 14–27. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.12.1.14.
Sumter, S. R., Bokhorst, C. L., Steinberg, L., & Westenberg, P. M. (2009). The developmental pattern of resistance to peer influence in adolescence: Will the teenager ever be able to resist? Journal of Adolescence, 32, 1009–1021. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.08.010.
Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., & Wanner, B. (2005). Patterns of affiliation with delinquent friends during late childhood and early adolescence: Correlates and consequences. Social Development, 14, 82–108. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2005.00292.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (P01CA98262). We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of P01 team members.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Richmond, M.J., Mermelstein, R.J. & Metzger, A. Heterogeneous Friendship Affiliation, Problem Behaviors, and Emotional Outcomes among High-Risk Adolescents. Prev Sci 13, 267–277 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-011-0261-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-011-0261-2