Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute of Research and Evaluation, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 601, Berkeley, California 94704, USA.
Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute of Research and Evaluation, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 601, Berkeley, California 94704, USA; School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94704, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 Aug 1;237:109515. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109515. Epub 2022 May 29.
Adolescent initiation of drinking and intoxication is associated with concurrent and later problems among adolescents. This study explores the mechanisms by which the context of close friendships is important to adolescents' decisions to initiate drinking and heavy alcohol use.
In-depth face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted online with 50 adolescents (12-16 years) who reported lifetime drinking. These semi-structured interviews allowed adolescents to describe their first experiences with drinking, reflecting on their social and environmental contexts, decision-making process, and expectations. We conducted a thematic analysis of the narratives, which revealed the nuances of social relationships and trusting peers and their impacts on alcohol use initiation patterns.
In contrast to common perceptions of peer pressure, youth described decision-making about alcohol that was influenced by feelings of safety and security produced by close relationships. Specifically, social relationships, especially the presence of close friends, influenced decisions to initiate alcohol use.
Results of this study suggest that close peer relationships enhanced feelings of safety even while engaging in risky behaviors. These results suggest the importance of understanding the complex relationships between social contexts, close friendships, and perceived trust and can inform future research and interventions on alcohol prevention or delayed initiation among adolescents.
青少年开始饮酒和醉酒与青少年同时期和后期的问题有关。本研究探讨了亲密友谊背景对青少年开始饮酒和大量饮酒的决定的重要性的机制。
对 50 名（12-16 岁）报告有终生饮酒史的青少年进行了在线深入的面对面定性访谈。这些半结构化访谈使青少年能够描述他们第一次饮酒的经历，反思他们的社会和环境背景、决策过程和期望。我们对这些叙述进行了主题分析，揭示了社会关系的细微差别以及信任同伴对青少年饮酒模式的影响。
与普遍存在的同伴压力观念相反，青少年描述了饮酒决策受到亲密关系产生的安全感和信任感的影响。具体来说，社会关系，尤其是亲密朋友的存在，影响了开始饮酒的决定。
本研究结果表明，亲密的同伴关系增强了安全感，即使在从事危险行为时也是如此。这些结果表明，理解社会背景、亲密友谊以及感知信任之间复杂关系的重要性，并为青少年预防或延迟饮酒的未来研究和干预提供信息。
