Objective: The secondhand effects of alcohol use (SEA) are adverse consequences caused by another's drinking. This study explored the relationship among the experience of SEAs, alcohol use, and alcohol related consequences (ARC). In addition, we examined whether coping (i.e., adaptive, maladaptive, substance use coping, maladaptive coping without…

The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between adolescents' social support, their internalising and externalising behaviour problems, and their alcohol consumption. Adolescents attending Grade 7-10 (N = 329), answered questionnaires regarding their perceived social support (from parents, teachers, classmates, and…

Adolescence is a very complex period. Various teen problems haunt when they grow up to become adults. The same teenagers successfully face the challenges of their development so that they are free from a variety of risky behaviors. However, some of them also smoke, consume alcohol, have free sex, commit violence, and use drugs. This research is a…

The long-term import of a fundamental challenge of adolescent social development--establishing oneself as a desirable peer companion while avoiding problematic behaviors often supported within peer groups--was examined in a community sample of 184 adolescents, followed from ages 13 to 23, along with parents, peers, and romantic partners. The…

The onset and escalation of alcohol consumption and romantic relationships are hallmarks of adolescence. Yet only recently have these domains jointly been the focus of sociological inquiry. We extend this literature by connecting alcohol use, dating, and peers to understand the diffusion of drinking behavior in school-based friendship networks.…

Although longitudinal evidence has linked alcohol use with aggressive behavior during adolescence, most studies have failed to adequately control for the numerous between-individual differences that may underlie this association. In addition, few studies of adolescents have examined whether the nature of the within-individual association between…

This study examines whether the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system influences targeted risk and protective factors and the subsequent development of problem behaviour among adolescents (12-18 years) in the Netherlands. In this quasi-experimental study of ten communities (five experimental, five control), adolescent outcomes were…

Multiracial youth are thought to be more vulnerable to peer-related risk factors than are single-race youth. However, there have been surprisingly few well-designed studies on this topic. This study empirically investigated the extent to which multiracial youth are at higher risk for peer influenced problem behavior. Data are from a representative…

Adolescents' friendships with other-sex peers serve important developmental functions, but they may also facilitate engagement in problem behavior. This study examines the unique contributions of other-sex friendships and friends' behavior to alcohol use, smoking, and initiation of sexual intercourse among late adolescent girls and boys. A total…

African American youths are overrepresented in urban public housing developments characterized by violence, poverty, and alternative market activities. Using Jessor and Jessor's problem behavior theory (PBT), the authors examined alcohol use and its correlates in a sample of African American youths from three public housing developments (N = 403).…

The neighborhood context can interfere with parents' abilities to effectively monitor their children, but may be related to specific monitoring strategies in different ways. The present study examines the importance of mothers' perceptions of neighborhood disorganization for the specific monitoring strategies they use and how each of these…

Given prevalence rates and negative consequences that adolescents' perpetration of dating violence may have on an individual's well-being and future relationships, it is imperative to explore factors that may increase or reduce its occurrence. Thus, we aimed to identify how multiple contextual risk factors (individual, family, schools, and…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give sustained attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with and is conducted by a team of research professors at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been continuously…

Responds to M. Stanton's comments on the current author's original article. One of the puzzles of motivational interviewing is why it works at all. How can it be that an individual interview or two yields change in a long-standing problem behavior even without any effort to alter social context? The time involved is such a tiny part of the…

This study examined concurrent and lagged effects of deviant peer association on levels of alcohol use for distinctive trajectories of drinking from ages 14-18 years, while controlling for age, paternal education, community size, and conduct problems. Longitudinal data were available from a secondary data archive of male and female German…