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Abstract
The goal of this study was to examine whether there are two distinct groups of adolescent alcohol users: (1) low-level adolescent alcohol users who may be motivated by social status and (2) high-level users who are expected to be more concerned with coping. Social status is measured by the sociometric variables popularity and centrality. Variables that indicate a need to cope are depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Using waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), support for these different etiological processes are found across high and lower level alcohol users. Among more normative (low level) alcohol users, social status plays a stronger role in predicting alcohol use than for more problematic (high level) alcohol users. For the high-level group, alcohol use appears to be a way to cope with depression. However, lower levels of self-esteem are only related to increased alcohol use among adolescents in the low-level group.
Notes
1. A number of scholars have posited four general drinking motivations: social (e.g., to make social gatherings more enjoyable), enhancement (e.g., because you like the feeling), coping (e.g., to help deal with depression), and conformity (e.g., to be liked) (Cooper Citation1994; Cox and Klinger Citation1988; Kuntsche et al. Citation2005). More recent research has promoted a developmental perspective to understand alcohol use (e.g., Brown et al. Citation2008; Masten et al. Citation2008; Windle et al. Citation2008; Zucker et al. Citation2008). Developmental approaches highlight diversity in the etiological processes (and consequences) surrounding alcohol use and how these factors display stability and change both between and within individuals across the life course. This type of multidimensional perspective that encompasses ‘neurologic, cognitive, and social changes’ (Brown et al. Citation2008, S290) is clearly key to understanding the various causes and effects of alcohol use. However, the current study is not explicitly developmental. It has a more narrow focus, the goal of which is to inform future developmental research that can then account for the relative importance of social status and coping mechanisms for different groups.
2. Database searches of PubMed and JStor were conducted using the following terms: alcohol AND adolescent AND (‘social network analysis’ OR sociometric) AND (‘self-esteem’ OR depression OR anxiety OR coping). The articles that were found did not appear to overlap substantially with the current study.
3. The social status variables were drawn from the Wave I In-school data-set. All other independent variables were from the Wave I In-home data-set.
4. The 11 items are (1) bothered by things that usually do not bother you; (2) did not feel like eating; (3) could not shake the blues; (4) trouble keeping your mind on what you were doing; (5) felt depressed; (6) too tired to do things; (7) felt fearful; (8) talked less than usual; (9) felt lonely; (10) felt sad; (11) hard to get started doing things.
5. The six items are (1) have a lot of good qualities; (2) have a lot to be proud of; (3) like yourself just the way you are; (4) feel like you are doing everything just about right; (5) feel socially accepted; (6) feel loved and wanted.
6. Using a principal components analysis with an oblique rotation. The five items are (1) trouble falling asleep or staying asleep; (2) trouble relaxing; (3) moodiness; (4) frequent crying; (5) fearfulness (eigenvalue = 2.88). Five other items did not scale well: (1) feeling hot all over; (2) cold sweats; (3) felt hopeful (reversed); (4) enjoyed life (reversed); (5) felt that people disliked you.
7. As a reviewer noted, alcohol is relatively expensive and therefore access and use may be dependent upon individual financial resources. To address this concern, I ran supplementary models controlling for various measures of adolescent disposable income (amount earned in employment in a typical non-summer week; amount earned in employment in a typical summer week; weekly allowance). The inclusion of these variables did not alter the findings in any meaningful way (results available upon request).
8. To analyze specific subpopulations, respondents outside the focal subpopulation were given a weighting close to zero (0.0000000001) so that they contribute virtually nothing to the results as per the recommendations of Chantala (Citation2006).