Serra Húnter Fellow & AQR-IREA University of Barcelona, Spain.
University of Verona, Italy; University of Oxford, UK.
Econ Hum Biol. 2023 Aug;50:101246. doi: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101246. Epub 2023 Apr 25.
During adolescence, interactions with peers influence a teen's attitudes and behaviors. Adolescents seek for peer approval and acceptance, which may bring them to engage in health-risky behaviors such as smoking and drinking. In this study, we estimate the impact of peers on the drug use of Spanish students aged 14 to 18. We focus on the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, the most prevalent substances used at those ages. We estimate the effect of the average classmates' consumption-the measure of peers' use-on individual consumption. Since peers' use affects individual use and vice versa, we correct for this bias using instrumental variables. Results show that peers' consumption increases substantially the probability of using alcohol, while it does not significantly affect tobacco consumption. Our results are not sensitive to using different time spans of consumption. This study shows also novel evidence indicating that the higher the proportion of grade-retained students in the class, the stronger the peer effects, especially for alcohol. This suggests that future reforms of the grade retention policy should also consider the negative effects on non-academic outcomes, such as substance use.
在青少年时期，与同伴的互动会影响青少年的态度和行为。青少年寻求同伴的认可和接纳，这可能使他们参与到吸烟和饮酒等健康风险行为中。在这项研究中，我们估计了同伴对 14 至 18 岁西班牙学生药物使用的影响。我们关注的是酒精和烟草的消费，这是这些年龄段最普遍使用的物质。我们估计了平均同学消费（衡量同伴使用的指标）对个体消费的影响。由于同伴的使用会影响个人的使用，反之亦然，我们使用工具变量来纠正这种偏差。结果表明，同伴的消费大大增加了使用酒精的可能性，而对烟草的消费没有显著影响。我们的结果对使用不同的消费时间段并不敏感。这项研究还提供了新的证据，表明班级中留级学生的比例越高，同伴效应就越强，尤其是在酒精方面。这表明，未来的留级政策改革也应该考虑到对非学术成果（如药物使用）的负面影响。
