Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2021 Sep-Oct;53(4):345-354. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2020.1871125. Epub 2021 Jan 12.
Research indicates that youths are particularly susceptible to peer influence and that identifying with substance using peer groups predicts substance use. Today, youth spend more time interacting with distal peer groups via the Internet and have increased access to online drug cultures. Theoretically, this should have important implications for substance use. This study employs a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth (n = 1212), ages 15-25 years old, to examine whether online peer group identification and social media homophily predict substance use. Results indicate that online belonging and social media homophily are associated with some forms of substance use. While these factors were not significantly associated with regular marijuana or alcohol use among those who had initiated use, they predicted regular stimulant and opioid use among substance users. This suggests that online peer groups may promote progression into more problematic forms of substance use. Additional analyses of adolescent and young adult subgroups revealed important similarities and differences among the groups. The findings imply several directions for future research, and suggest that prevention policies and programs should continue to consider the role of online peers, and the Internet generally, in substance use initiation, escalation, and prevention.
研究表明，青少年特别容易受到同伴影响，并且认同使用物质的同伴群体预测物质使用。如今，年轻人通过互联网与远程同伴群体进行更多的互动，并且可以更方便地接触到在线毒品文化。从理论上讲，这应该对物质使用有重要影响。本研究采用了具有全国代表性的美国青少年样本（n=1212），年龄在 15 至 25 岁之间，以检验在线同伴群体认同和社交媒体同质性是否预测物质使用。结果表明，在线归属感和社交媒体同质性与某些形式的物质使用有关。虽然这些因素与已经开始使用的人定期使用大麻或酒精没有显著关联，但它们预测了物质使用者中定期使用兴奋剂和阿片类药物。这表明，在线同伴群体可能会促进更严重的物质使用形式的发展。对青少年和年轻成年人亚组的进一步分析揭示了这些群体之间的重要相似点和不同点。研究结果暗示了未来研究的几个方向，并表明预防政策和计划应继续考虑在线同伴以及互联网在物质使用开始、升级和预防方面的作用。
