Adolescent Peer-Related Social Stress and Vulnerabilities for Underage Drinking

Abstract

Comprehensive models synthesizing contributors to alcohol use among mainstream adolescents are lacking in comparison to models more equipped to explain alcohol use among antisocial and delinquent adolescents. The present study examined a model of additive peer-related, emotional, and cognitive risk factors for adolescent alcohol use within a school-based sample of 10th grade adolescents. Participants provided self-reports of peer-related social stress, the discrepancy between their desired and perceived actual belonging within school peer crowds. Additionally, adolescents provided self-reports of self-esteem, coping, involuntary stress responses, sociability and tension reduction positive alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use. Adolescents who experienced higher levels of peer-related social stress and endorsed more sociability alcohol expectancies engaged in higher levels of alcohol use. Those who reported higher self-esteem were especially prone to drinking when faced with peer-related social stress. Implications for further model development and research directions, as well as school-based universal prevention programming, are discussed.