The Influence of Informal Control Sources upon Adolescent Alcohol Use and Problems

Abstract

Although the past literature has hypothesized that alcohol consumption on the part of adolescents is influenced by the use patterns and standards of peers, parents, and community, a multivariate analysis of data from high school seniors reveals that only respondent's personal standards and number of close friends who drink exert a major influence on respondents' beer use, while the standards of other students explains an additional small part of the variance. Similarly, only friends' beer use and standards, in addition to the frequency of respondents' beer use, had significant correlations to drinking problems. Use patterns and standards of parents, as well as standards of close friends and of the adult community, had no appreciable relationship to adolescent alcohol use or problems. The greater importance of self-standards among late adolescents is consonant with theories of development of identity and autonomy.