Research & Resources

In this study, researchers used longitudinal data from a population-based sample of 825 adolescents, ages 12–19, to determine whether the influence of romantic partners’ alcohol use on adolescents’ underage drinking is distinct from the influence of peers and parents. They found that alcohol use frequency and alcohol problems were influenced by dating partners’ alcohol use. The study also found that dating partners’ influence was stronger on older adolescents and male adolescents. Researchers theorized that the study results could be useful for public health messaging and prevention efforts by demonstrating the influence of parents, peers, and dating partners on teens’ alcohol use.
This paper, “Adolescents’ Frequency of Alcohol Use and Problems from Alcohol Abuse: Integrating Dating Partners with Parent and Peer Influences,” was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and published in the Journal of youth and adolescence.