Vulnerability to peer influence: A moderated mediation study of early adolescent alcohol use initiation

Affiliation with deviant peers is a correlate of adolescent alcohol use; however, the mechanism accounting for this association remains unclear, particularly with respect to initiation of alcohol use in early adolescence. This prospective study examines perceived peer attitudes and use as a mediator between peer delinquency and initiation of alcohol use, and how parenting may moderate vulnerability to this risk pathway. Participants included 371 11–13 year-old adolescents (55.5% female, 83.0% Caucasian). Results suggested that high levels of peer delinquency prospectively predicted perceived peer approval and use of alcohol and that peer approval and use of alcohol prospectively predicted initiation of alcohol use. Thus, reinforcement and modeling of alcohol use appear to be important mechanisms by which delinquent peers influence the initiation of drinking. There was no support for parental warmth or control as moderators of peer influence.

Research Highlights► Peer delinquency was related to peer approval and use of alcohol, predicting use. ► Associations were found above and beyond self-reported delinquency. ► Modeling and reinforcement from deviant peers is a mechanism for alcohol initiation. ► This meditational path was invariant across gender. ► Parenting practices did not moderate the influence of peers on alcohol initiation.