The Authors’ Own Words: Perceptions of Alcohol Use by Friends Compared to Peers: Associations with Middle Adolescents’ Own Use

The Authors’ Own Words: We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

“Based on our results, we believe that social norming approaches to alcohol prevention may be more impactful by targeting beliefs about alcohol use among friends rather than focusing on the broader peer group. It may also be beneficial to use adolescents’ perceptions of alcohol use by friends to identify those who may be at greater risk current for future alcohol use. Finally, efforts to prevent or reduce adolescent drinking may also want to reduce opportunities for alcohol use with friends.”