Mundt et al. (2012) Effect of Alcohol Use Among Friends (Edexcel A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
Mundt et al. (2012) Effect of Alcohol Use Among Friends
Background
Adolescent alcohol consumption often begins at an early age. Research has established a relationship between early drinking initiation and later alcohol dependence during adulthood. Young people who begin drinking early are also more likely to engage in other risky behaviours, including cannabis use, having multiple sexual partners and poor academic performance. Understanding the factors that motivate adolescents to start drinking at a young age is important for developing targeted interventions to reduce these risks.
This study examined whether adolescents select friends based on similar alcohol use patterns (peer selection) and whether they adjust their drinking behaviour to match that of their friends (peer influence).
This research is particularly relevant for developing prevention programmes, as it helps identify whether interventions should focus on preventing initial friendship formation around drinking behaviour or on reducing the influence of existing friendship groups.
Participants
- Wave 1: 2,563 students aged 13–18 years
- Wave 2: 2,299 students (12 months later)
- Students were selected from high schools and middle schools across the United States
- Schools were chosen using stratified sampling to ensure representation across different regions, funding levels and ethnic backgrounds
Aim
The researchers sought to answer two research questions:
- Do adolescents select friends with similar alcohol use patterns?
- Do adolescents adjust their alcohol consumption to match the drinking levels of their friends?
The researchers hypothesised that both questions would be answered affirmatively.
Procedure
Data collection approach
The study analysed secondary data from an existing research project. This meant the researchers used data that had been collected previously for another study, rather than gathering new data themselves.
Wave 1 data collection
Students completed an interview whilst their parents completed a survey. Researchers collected information including:
- Expectations for the future
- Self-esteem levels
- Risk behaviours, such as alcohol use
- The names of their five best male friends and five best female friends
Students were asked about their alcohol consumption: "How often did you consume alcohol in the past year?" Response categories were:
- Never
- 1 or 2 times
- 3 to 12 times
- Monthly but not weekly
- Weekly
- More than once a week
Wave 2 data collection (12 months later)
Students completed another survey that included:
- The same questions about alcohol consumption frequency over the past year
- The names of their five best male friends and five best female friends
Findings
Changes in alcohol use between waves
The table below shows the percentage of students in each alcohol use category at both time points:
| Alcohol use category | Wave 1 (n=2563) | Wave 2 (n=2299) |
|---|---|---|
| None | 49.6% | 54.0% |
| 1–2 times | 18.3% | 14.1% |
| 3–12 times | 14.2% | 12.3% |
| More than monthly, less than weekly | 8.3% | 8.7% |
| Monthly or more often | 9.6% | 10.9% |
Interpreting the Data:
Looking at the table, we can observe several trends:
- The percentage of students reporting no alcohol use increased from 49.6% to 54.0% between Wave 1 and Wave 2
- Light drinking (1-2 times) decreased from 18.3% to 14.1%
- Regular drinking (weekly or more) increased slightly from 9.6% to 10.9%
This suggests that while many adolescents reduced or stopped drinking, a small proportion increased their consumption to more frequent patterns.
Friendship patterns and alcohol use
The analysis of friendship groups revealed four key findings:
- Friendship selection was associated with similarity in alcohol consumption – adolescents chose friends who had comparable drinking patterns to their own
- Students were more likely to select friends of similar age, gender and ethnicity – friendship choices extended beyond alcohol use to other demographic similarities
- Adolescents were more likely to nominate as friends others who drank similarly to themselves – the selection effect was specifically linked to matching alcohol consumption levels
- Friend alcohol use was correlated with increased personal alcohol use – there was a relationship between friends' drinking and individual drinking behaviour
Conclusion
The study identified peer selection as a major factor influencing friendship choices among adolescents. Once friendships were established, friends appeared to have limited influence on each other's alcohol use. This suggests that similarities in alcohol consumption drive friend selection, rather than friends influencing each other to drink more or less after becoming friends.
When developing interventions to reduce adolescent alcohol use, consideration must be given to the role of social networks in maintaining drinking behaviour. Programmes that focus solely on peer pressure may be less effective than those addressing friendship formation patterns.
Evaluation: Strengths
Large representative sample
The study included over 2,500 participants in Wave 1, selected to be representative of the wider American adolescent population in terms of region, school funding and ethnicity. This makes the findings more generalisable to adolescents across the United States, as a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences were included in the sample.
Use of secondary data minimised bias
Rather than collecting new data, the researchers used raw data from an existing study. This approach minimised potential bias effects from the original research, as the researchers could analyse the original responses rather than working with data that had already been interpreted by others.
Using secondary data also provided practical advantages: it was more cost-effective and time-efficient than conducting a new longitudinal study, and the data had already been collected using established protocols.
Longitudinal design captured change over time
The two-wave design, with a 12-month interval between data collection points, allowed researchers to track changes in both friendship networks and alcohol consumption. This temporal element is essential for distinguishing between selection effects (choosing similar friends) and influence effects (changing behaviour to match friends).
Evaluation: Weaknesses
Reliance on self-reported alcohol use
All alcohol consumption data came from students' own reports. Adolescents may have provided inaccurate information about their drinking behaviour, particularly as all participants were below the legal drinking age in the United States. The possibility of social desirability bias is particularly relevant – students may have under-reported their alcohol use to avoid appearing deviant or to provide socially acceptable answers.
Common Methodological Weakness:
Self-report data in studies involving illegal or socially undesirable behaviours (like underage drinking) is prone to systematic bias. Participants may under-report to present themselves more favourably, leading to potentially inaccurate estimates of actual drinking behaviour.
Limited scope of variables examined
The study focused exclusively on alcohol use as a factor in friendship selection. Many other characteristics influence why someone chooses a friend, including shared interests, personality traits and proximity. These alternative explanations may have a stronger influence on friendship selection than alcohol use, which could lead to different conclusions about the effect of drinking behaviour on friendships.
Correlational design limits causal conclusions
As a correlational study, this research cannot determine whether alcohol use causes friendship selection or whether other variables account for both. The study can only identify associations between variables, not establish cause-and-effect relationships. This limitation is inherent in correlational research methods.
Ethics
Ethical Consideration: Random Allocation
The original study randomly allocated participants to either an experimental condition or a control condition. If the experimental condition had successfully reduced alcohol consumption compared to the control group, this would raise ethical concerns. Control participants could be criticised for being deliberately denied an intervention that might have helped them reduce harmful drinking behaviour.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Peer selection, not peer influence – adolescents chose friends with similar drinking patterns, but friends had limited influence on each other's alcohol use once friendships were established
- Large, representative sample – over 2,500 American adolescents from diverse backgrounds increased the generalisability of findings
- Self-report limitations – reliance on adolescents' own accounts of illegal behaviour may have resulted in under-reporting due to social desirability bias
- Limited variable scope – focusing only on alcohol use ignores many other factors that influence friendship formation
- Intervention implications – effective strategies to reduce adolescent drinking must consider the role of social networks in maintaining behaviour