Adolescents’ Conformity to Their Peers’ Pro-Alcohol and Anti-Alcohol Norms: The Power of Popularity

摘要

BackgroundResearch on adolescent development suggests that peer influence may play a key role in explaining adolescents’ willingness to drink, an important predictor of drinking initiation. However, experiments that thoroughly examine these peer influence effects are scarce. This study experimentally examined whether adolescents adapted their willingness to drink when confronted with the pro-alcohol and anti-alcohol norms of peers in a chat room session and whether these effects were moderated by the social status of peers.