"Cool kids" are more likely to engage in teen drug and alcohol abuse in order to maintain their popularity, according to a new study from the University of Montréal.
- Professor Jean-Sebastian Fallu kept track of how much alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs that 500 children used when they were 10 to 11 years old, 12 to 13 years old, and 14 to 15 years old.
- While using illegal substances did not contribute to a child's popularity, it helped to maintain popular.
- By age 15, the most popular children in the study who had friends who were also popular were using twice as much drugs and alcohol as other young people. Drug and alcohol use was a "social maintenance" strategy.
"To be popular, function well, and have popular friends does not mean an adolescent is not a risk," said Professor Fallu. "In fact, it probably means the adolescent is at higher risk for drug and alcohol abuse -- at least for a short period of time."
Labels: drug use, alcohol, students
Posted By: Jane St. Clair