Departmental Papers (ASC)
Document Type
Technical Report
Date of this Version
10-2017
Publication Source
Psychological Bulletin
Volume
143
Issue
10
Start Page
1082
Last Page
1115
DOI
10.1037/bul0000113
Abstract
Although the influence of peers on adolescent smoking should vary depending on social dynamics, there is a lack of understanding of which elements are most crucial and how this dynamic unfolds for smoking initiation and continuation across areas of the world. The present meta-analysis included 75 studies yielding 237 effect sizes that examined associations between peers’ smoking and adolescents’ smoking initiation and continuation with longitudinal designs across 16 countries. Mixed-effects models with robust variance estimates were used to calculate weighted-mean Odds ratios. This work showed that having peers who smoke is associated with about twice the odds of adolescents beginning (OR = 1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.76, 2.19]) and continuing to smoke (OR = 1.78, 95% CI [1.55, 2.05]). Moderator analyses revealed that (a) smoking initiation was more positively correlated with peers’ smoking when the interpersonal closeness between adolescents and their peers was higher (vs. lower); and (b) both smoking initiation and continuation were more positively correlated with peers’ smoking when samples were from collectivistic (vs. individualistic) cultures. Thus, both individual as well as population level dynamics play a critical role in the strength of peer influence. Accounting for cultural variables may be especially important given effects on both initiation and continuation. Implications for theory, research, and antismoking intervention strategies are discussed.
Copyright/Permission Statement
© American Psychological Association, 2017. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000113
Keywords
health risk behavior, peer influence, adolescent, smoking, meta-analysis
Recommended Citation
Liu, J., Zhao, S., Chen, X., Falk, E. B., & Albarracín, D. (2017). The Influence of Peer Behavior as a Function of Social and Cultural Closeness: A Meta-Analysis of Normative Influence on Adolescent Smoking Initiation and Continuation. Psychological Bulletin, 143 (10), 1082-1115. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000113
Included in
Cognition and Perception Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Community Psychology Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Social Psychology Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
Date Posted: 15 June 2018
This document has been peer reviewed.