Abstract
In adolescent best friendship dyads, we examined: (a) similarity in substance use and decision-making; (b) associations between participants' decision-making and their own and best friend's substance use, (c) the influence of relative popularity within the dyad on these associations. Participants (n = 172; 12–18 years) named their best friend, completed popularity ratings, and a substance use questionnaire. Computer tasks were administered to assess risk-taking and immediate reward preferences. Reciprocated same-sex best friendship dyads (n = 49) were distinguished on their popularity, and we controlled for age differences between dyads in the analyses. Best friends were similar in substance use and risk-taking preferences. More popular friends' risk-taking preferences were positively associated with alcohol use of less popular friends. These findings underscore best friendship similarity in risky behaviors, and the influence of popular friends.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 860-875 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Social Development |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- adolescence
- alcohol use
- decision-making
- friendship
- sociometric status