In this three-wave longitudinal survey, we investigated bi-directional longitudinal associations between best friends and adolescents’ alcohol consumption. Additionally, since the relation between best friends and adolescents’ drinking may be stronger if adolescents have not consumed alcohol yet, we examined this relation not only with regard to continuation but also with regard to the initiation of adolescent drinking. We also hypothesized that low levels of self-esteem and self-control in youths would be related to a higher susceptibility to the impact of their best friends’ drinking. Data were used from 433 adolescents and their best friends. Results of SEM analyses did not provide evidence for bi-directional associations between best friends and adolescents’ alcohol use over time. Nevertheless, the results of additional growth curve analyses indicated that adolescents and best friends’ drinking does seem to develop in a similar fashion over time. Adolescents’ self-esteem, self-control, and gender did not moderate longitudinal associations between best friends and adolescents’ drinking. The discussion focuses on methodological and theoretical explanations for the absence of significant longitudinal relations between best friends and adolescents’ drinking.
Andrews, J.A., Tildesley, E., Hops, H., & Li, F. ( 2002). The influence of peers on young adult substance use. Health Psychology, 21, 349-357.
2.
Bagwell, C.L., Newcomb, A.F., & Bukowski, W.M. (1998). Preadolescent friendship and peer rejection as predictors of adult adjustment. Child Development, 69, 140-153.
3.
Bandura, A., & Walters, R.H. ( 1963). Social learning and personality development. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
4.
Bauman, K.E., & Ennett, S.E. ( 1996). On the importance of peer influence for adolescent drug use: Commonly neglected considerations. Addiction, 91, 185-198.
5.
Baumeister, R.F., Heatherton, T.F., & Tice, D.M. ( 1994). Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation . San Diego, CA: Academic Press .
6.
Baumeister, R.F., & Leary, M.R. ( 1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin , 117, 497-529.
7.
Bollen, K.A., & Curran, P.J. ( 2006). Latent curve models: A structural equation perspective . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
8.
Bot, S.M., Engels, R.C.M.E., & Knibbe, R.A. ( 2005a). The effects of alcohol expectancies on drinking behaviour in peer groups: Observations in a naturalistic setting. Addiction , 100, 1,270- 1,279.
9.
Bot, S.M., Engels, R.C.M.E., Knibbe, R.A., & Meeus, W.H.J. ( 2005b). Friend’s drinking behaviour and adolescent alcohol consumption: The moderating role of friendship characteristics. Addictive Behaviors, 30, 929-947.
10.
Bullers, S., Cooper, M.L., & Russell, M. ( 2001). Social network drinking and adult alcohol involvement: A longitudinal exploration of the direction of influence. Addictive Behaviors, 26, 181-199.
11.
Collins, L.R., & Marlatt, A.G. ( 1981). Social modelling as a determinant of drinking behaviour: Implications for prevention and treatment. Addictive Behaviors , 6, 233-239.
12.
De Kemp, R.T., Scholte, R.H.J., Overbeek, G., & Engels, R.C.M.E. (2006). Early adolescent delinquency: The role of parents and best friends. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33, 1-23.
13.
Engels, R.C.M.E., Bot, S.M., Scholte, R.H.J., & Granic, I. ( 2007). Peers and adolescent substance use. In R.C.M.E, Engels, M. Keer, & H. Stattin, (Eds.), Friends, lovers, and groups: Key relationships in adolescence (pp. 47-60). Chichester : Wiley.
14.
Engels, R.C.M.E., Finkenauer, C., Meeus, W., & Dekovic, M. ( 2001). Parental attachment and adolescents’ emotional adjustment: The associations with social skills and relational competence . Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 428-439.
15.
Engels, R.C.M.E., & Knibbe, R.A. ( 2000). Alcohol use and intimate relationships in adolescence: When love comes to town. Addictive Behaviors, 25, 435-439.
16.
Engels, R.C.M.E., Knibbe, R.A., & Drop, M.J. ( 1999). Visiting public drinking places: An explorative study into the functions of pub-going for late adolescents. Substance Use and Misuse, 34, 1,261- 1,280.
17.
Engels, R.C.M.E., Knibbe, R.A., de Vries, H., Drop, M.J., & van Breukelen, G.J.P. (1999). Influences of parental and best friends’ smoking and drinking on adolescents use: A longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 337-361.
18.
Ennett, S.T., & Bauman, K.E. ( 1994). The contribution of influence and selection to adolescent peer group homogeneity: The case of adolescent cigarette smoking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 653-663.
19.
Fergussen, D.M., Lynskey, M.T., & Horwood, J. ( 1994). Childhood exposure to alcohol drinking patterns. Addiction, 89, 1,007- 1,016.
20.
Finkenauer, C., Engels, R.C.M.E., & Baumeister, R.F. (2005). Parenting behaviour and adolescent behavioural and emotional problems: The role of self-control. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 58-69.
21.
Finkenauer, C., Engels, R.C.M.E., Meeus, W., & Oosterwegel, A. (2002). Self and identity in early adolescence. In T.M. Brinthaupt, & R.P. Lipka (Eds.). Understanding the self of the early adolescent (pp. 25-56). Albany: State University of New York Press.
22.
Glassman, T., Werch, C.C., & Jobli, E. ( 2007). Alcohol self-control behaviors of adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 32, 590-597.
Granic, I., & Dishion, T. ( 2003). Deviant talk in adolescent friendships: A step toward measuring a pathogenic attractor process. Social Development , 12, 314-334.
25.
Gray-Little, B., Williams, V.S.L., & Hancock, T.D. ( 1997). An item response theory analysis of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 443-451.
26.
Hartup, W.W. ( 1996). The company they keep: Friendships and their developmental significance. Child Development, 67, 1-13.
27.
Hibell, B., Andersson, B., Bjarnason, T., Ahlström, S., Balakireva, O., Kokkevi, A., et al. (2004). The ESPAD report 2003: Alcohol and other drug use among students in 35 European countries. Stockholm : The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) and the Pompidou Group at the Council of Europe.
28.
Jaccard, J., Blanton, H., & Dodge, T. ( 2005). Peer influences on risk behavior: An analysis of the effects of a close friend. Developmental Psychology, 41, 135-147.
29.
Kandel, D.B. ( 1978). Homophily, selection, and socialization in adolescent friendships. The American Journal of Sociology, 84, 427-436.
30.
Kiesner, J., & Pastore, M. ( 2005). Differences in the relations between antisocial behavior and peer acceptance across contexts and across adolescence. Child Development, 76, 1,278-1,293.
31.
Kiesner, J., Poulin, F., & Nicotra, E. ( 2003). Peer relations across contexts: Individual-network homophily and network inclusion in and after school. Child Development , 74, 1328-1343.
32.
Klein, J.W., & Moosbrugger H. (2000). Maximum likelihood estimation of latent interaction effects with the LMS method. Psychometrica , 65, 457-474.
33.
Luhtanen, R.K., & Crocker, J. ( 2005). Alcohol use in college students: Effects of levels of self-esteem, narcissism, and contingencies of self-worth. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19, 99-103.
34.
Mignault, J.P., Pallonen, U.E., & Velicer, W.F. ( 1997). Decisional balance and stage of change for adolescent drinking. Addictive Behaviors, 22, 339-351.
35.
Monshouwer, K., van Dorsselaer, S., Gorter, A., Verdurmen, J., & Vollebergh, W. (2004). Jeugd en riskant gedrag: Kerngegevens uit het peilstationsonderzoek 2003 [Youth and risky behavior: Key findings from the monitor study 2003]. Utrecht: Trimbosinstituut.
36.
Muraven, M., & Shmueli, D. ( 2006).The self-control costs of fighting the temptation to drink . Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20, 154-160.
37.
Muthén, B.O., & Muthén, L.K. (2000). The development of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems from ages 18 to 37 in a U.S. national sample. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61, 290-300.
Newcomb, M.D., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1989). Substance use and abuse among children and teenagers . American Psychologist, 44, 242-248.
40.
Overbeek, G., Bot, S.M., Sentse, M., Meeus, W.H.J., Knibbe, R.A., & Engels, R.C.M.E. (in press). Where it’s at! The role of best friends and peer group members in young adults’ alcohol use. Journal of Research on Adolescence.
41.
Pape, H., & Hammer, T. ( 1996). How does young people’s alcohol consumption change during the transition to early adulthood? A longitudinal study of changes at aggregate and individual level. Addiction, 91,1,345-1,357.
42.
Petraitis, J., Flay, B.R., & Miller, T.Q. ( 1995). Reviewing theories of adolescent substance use: Organizing pieces in the puzzle. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 67-86.
43.
Poelen, E.A.P., Engels, R.C.M.E., van der Vorst, H., Scholte, R.H.J., & Vermulst, A.A. (2007). Best friends and alcohol consumption in adolescence: A within-family analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 88, 163-173.
44.
Poelen, E.A.P., Scholte, R.H.J., Engels, R.C.M.E., Boomsma, D.I., & Willemsen, G. ( 2005). Prevalence and trends of alcohol use and misuse among adolescents and young adults in the Netherlands from 1993 to 2000. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 79, 413-421.
45.
Quigley, B.M. & Collins, R.L. ( 1999). The modeling of alcohol consumption: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 60, 90-98.
46.
Radin, S.M., Neighbors, C., Walker, P.S., Walker, R.D., Marlatt, G.A., & Larimer, M. ( 2006). The changing influences of self-worth and peer deviance on drinking problems in urban American Indian adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20, 161-170.
47.
Rogosa, D. ( 1980). A critique of cross-lagged correlation. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 245-258.
48.
Rosenberg, M. ( 1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
49.
Rutter, M., & Pickles, A. ( 1991). Person-environment interactions: Concepts, mechanisms, and implications for data analysis. In T.D. Wachs, & R. Plomin (Eds.). Conceptualization and measurement of organismndash;environment interaction . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
50.
Sieving, R.E., Perry, C.L.R.N.C, & Williams, C.L. (2000). Do friendships change behaviors, or do behaviors change friendships? Examining paths of influence in young adolescents’ alcohol use. Journal of Adolescent Health , 26, 27-35.
51.
Spijkerman, R., Van Den Eijnden, R.J.J.M., Overbeek, G.,& Engels, R.C.M.E. ( 2007). The impact of peer and parental norms and behavior on adolescent drinking: The role of drinker prototypes. Psychology and health, 22, 7-29.
52.
Stacy, A.W., Newcomb, M.D., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1992). Interactive and higher-order effects of social influences on drug use. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33, 226-241.
53.
Suls, J., & Green, P. ( 2003). Pluralistic ignorance and college student perceptions of gender-specific alcohol norms. Health Psychology, 22, 479-486.
54.
Swaim, R.C., & Wayman, J.C. ( 2004). Multidimensional self-esteem and alcohol use among Mexican American and White non-Latino adolescents: Concurrent and prospective effects . American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 74, 559-570.
55.
Tangney, J.P., Baumeister, R.F., & Boone, A.L. ( 2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality , 72, 271-324.
56.
Thissen-Pennings, M.C.E., & Bendermacher, A.N.H. (2002). Provisional version of MAKEDYAD: A program for making and analyzing dyads. Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Research Technische Ondersteuningsgroep (RTOG), Radboud University Nijmegen.
57.
Thompson, K.M. ( 1989). Effects of early alcohol use on adolescents’ relations with peers and self-esteem: Patterns over time. Adolescence , 94, 837-849.
58.
Urberg, K.A., Değirmencioğlu, S.M., & Pilgrim , C. (1997). Close friend and group influence on adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use. Developmental Psychology, 33, 834-844.
59.
Urberg, K.A., Luo, Q., Pilgrim, C., & Değirmencioğlu, S.M. (2003). A two-stage model of peer influence in adolescent substance use: Individual and relationship-specific differences in susceptibility to influence. Addictive Behaviors , 28, 1,243-1,256.
60.
Van der Vorst, H., Engels, R.C.M.E., Dekovic, M., Meeus, W., & Van-Leeuwe, J. (2005). The role of alcohol-specific socialization in adolescents’ drinking behaviour. Addiction , 100, 1,464-1,476.
61.
Van der Vorst, H., Engels, R.C.M.E., Meeus, W., Dekovic, M., & Vermulst, A.A. (2007). Alcohol-specific rules, personality and adolescents’ alcohol use: A longitudinal person-environment study. Addiction, 102, 1,064-1,075.
62.
Wills, T.A. & Cleary, S.D. ( 1999). Peer and adolescent substance use among 6th-9th graders: Latent growth analysis of influence versus selection mechanisms. Health Psychology, 18, 453-463.
