Social influences can promote or discourage adolescent substance use.
The authors conducted separate multiple logistic regression analyses for smoking and drinking, controlling for grade, sex, and race. Positive independent associations with smoking and drinking were found for direct peer pressure and associating with problem-behaving friends. Independent negative associations with smoking and drinking were also found for parent involvement, parent expectations, and parent regard. In an analysis of interactions, peer pressure was positively associated with drinking for girls but not for boys and problem-behaving friends was positively associated with drinking for boys and girls. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that associating with deviant peers promotes and that authoritative parenting protects against smoking and drinking.