NCJ Number
222788
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 43 Issue: 3-4 Dated: 2008 Pages: 361-373
Date Published
2008
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study of a sample of 1,886 Central-Eastern European high school students examined whether their self-reported frequency of personal alcohol use was related to their estimated number of friends who drank and estimated drinking prevalence of schoolmates.
Abstract
The study found that for both boys and girls, personal alcohol-use variables were significantly associated with the estimated number of friends who drank and the estimated number of friends who engaged in episodic heavy drinking. Among boys and girls, the prevalence and frequency of personal alcohol use in the past week differed significantly according to the number of friends who drank. Also among boys and girls, the prevalence and frequency of episodic heavy drinking in the past month differed significantly according to the number of friends who were episodic heavy drinkers. The results also show that girls' and boys' personal drinking was related to their estimation of school mates alcohol use; however, they overestimated the prevalence of schoolmates' alcohol use. These findings and those of other studies support the social norms model, which proposes that exaggerated misperceptions of peer risk behavior is a risk factor for personal involvement in risky behavior. Prevention programs in the United States have demonstrated success with a norms correction component in reducing high-risk drinking and smoking rates among secondary school populations. The questionnaire with relevant questions was administered to the sample in September 2004 and June 2005. Students were attending 22 high schools located in urban and rural areas in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Romania; however, the data pooling was not representative of all Central-Eastern European high school students. 5 tables and 31 references