Non-school Friendships, Alcohol Use, and Deviance among Adolescents (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for: Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and Marriage & Family Therapists

Course By: Ken Springer, PhD

Content By:  Jose, R., Hipp, J. R., Butts, C. T., Wang, C., & Lakon, C. M.  (2021). A multi-contextual examination of non-school friendships and their impact on adolescent deviance and alcohol use. PLoS One, 16(2).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245837

Course Description: Much is known about links between adolescent friendships and the emergence of risky health behaviors, but few studies have examined the role of friendships outside school. The present study focused on a large, nationally representative dataset obtained from adolescents in grades 6 through 12. The researchers explored predictors of non-school friendships, as well as associations between non-school friendships and both alcohol use as well as deviance (lying to parents, skipping school, or fighting). Predictors of non-school friendships included parent variables (e.g., parents who are less supportive or monitoring), school variables (e.g., schools that offer more extra-curricular activities), neighborhood variables (e.g., residential stability), and characteristics of the adolescents themselves (e.g., centrality in school networks). Number of non-school friendships was in turn associated with both alcohol use and deviance. These and other results suggest that interventions intended to reduce adolescent alcohol use and deviance should consider the non-school friendships that develop in response to neighborhood, school, family, and personal influences.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the rationale for the study as well as the ways key variables were measured
2. Describe the main findings of the study concerning predictors of non-school friendships, as well as associations between non-school friendships and alcohol use and deviance
3. Integrate the strengths and limitations of the study, and summarize the clinical implications for interventions intended to reduce adolescent risky behavior

Course Outline:

• Read and understand A multi-contextual examination of non-school friendships and their impact on adolescent deviance and alcohol use
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Understand the need for research on non-school friendships as well as the researchers' particular methods for studying these friendships
• Distinguish among the parent, school, neighborhood and individual predictors of non-school friendships revealed by this study
• Analyze the links found between non-school friendships and alcohol use and deviance
• Integrate the study's key findings, strengths, limitations, and clinical implications
• Work through the post-test questions, using the article as the sole basis for your answers
• Revisit the article for any missed questions and/or to better understand the predictors of non-school friendships as well as their links to adolescent alcohol use and deviance

Approvals: