Teen labels provide insight

The labels that teenagers use to describe themselves and their peers provide insight into their drug and alcohol use, according to a study from the Research Institute on Addictions at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.).

"Headbangers," for example, are significantly more likely to use illicit drugs, whereas "jocks" are at elevated risk for problem drinking, the study maintains. Different peer crowds have distinct patterns of substance use and sexual risk-taking, asserts lead author Kathleen E. Miller, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Sociology.

The groups examined in the study were "populars," noted for their premier status in adolescent hierarchy at school; "jocks," who claim status and identity through athletics; "headbangers," who have a reputation for substance use and going against convention; and "averages," which is a default description as well as a distinct crowd.

"Headbangers reported significantly elevated levels of all six kinds of substance use we measured: total alcohol consumption, drunkenness, binge drinking, cigarette smoking, marijuana use, and other drug use," Miller points out. "Populars reported somewhat elevated levels of tobacco and marijuana use, and jocks had high levels of problem drinking, but very low levels of smoking or illicit drug use. And substance use by averages doesn't follow any identifiable pattern at all."

Miller investigated whether teens at risk for substance use gravitate toward certain crowds or whether kids learn to drink or use drugs from peers in their crowd. "It depends on the crowd," she notes. "For example, populars report moderate levels of drinking and drug use, but it is a behavior they bring with them when they join the popular crowd. In contrast, alcohol misuse among jocks actually gets worse over time once they join the jock crowd; identification with that subculture aggravates the problem. And identification with the headbanger peer crowd further reinforces illicit drug use, but not problem drinking."

Race, sex, and socioeconomic status also have an impact on both peer identification and substance use. Girls tend to identify more with the populars crowd, and less with the jocks or headbangers, than do boys. On average, white teens identify more with the headbangers, populars, and jocks than black teens. Teens with a higher socioeconomic status are more likely to identity with jocks, and less likely to identify with headbangers or averages.

The findings, Miller indicates, offer an intriguing glimpse into the relationships among peer crowds and teenage substance use over time. She cautions, however, that peer-crowd membership is fluid and negotiable rather than absolute. Many adolescents actively resist designating themselves or their peers in what they see as stereotypical terms. Some adolescents may identify simultaneously with more than one crowd, and some identify with no crowd at all.

Because peer crowds have considerable influence on adolescent behavior, the study also has important policy implications. "Peer crowds who are closely tied to the institutions of school and conventional society--like populars or jocks--could be valuable allies in substance-use prevention programs," Miller suggests. "Other peer crowds, like headbangers, probably would be less amenable to such an approach, but we need to understand them better because of their potential capacity to undermine the effectiveness of prevention strategies."

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