There is a considerable body of empirical research that has identified adolescent peer relationships as a primary factor involved in adolescent cigarette smoking. Despite this large research base, many questions remain unanswered about the mechanisms by which peers affect youths' smoking behavior. Understanding these processes of influence is key to the development of prevention and intervention programs designed to address adolescent smoking as a significant public health concern. In this paper, theoretical frameworks and empirical findings are reviewed critically which inform the current state of knowledge regarding peer influences on teenage smoking. Specifically, social learning theory, primary socialization theory, social identity theory and social network theory are discussed. Empirical findings regarding peer influence and selection, as well as multiple reference points in adolescent friendships, including best friendships, romantic relationships, peer groups and social crowds, are also reviewed. Review of this work reveals the contribution that peers have in adolescents' use of tobacco, in some cases promoting use, and in other cases deterring it. This review also suggests that peer influences on smoking are more subtle than commonly thought and need to be examined more carefully, including consideration of larger social contexts, e.g. the family, neighborhood, and media. Recommendations for future investigations are made, as well as suggestions for specific methodological approaches that offer promise for advancing our knowledge of the contribution of peers on adolescent tobacco use.

This study tested competing hypotheses related to the false consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance by examining the accuracy and bias of adolescents’ perceptions of peer substance use, and the effects of their own substance use, gender, and age on perceptions of peer behavior. Two samples (Ns = 163 and 2,194) that collected data on peer nominations, perceptions of peer substance use, and self-reports of substance use were used in analyses. Results from both samples provided evidence supporting the false consensus effect, that is, adolescents’ reports of their friends’ substance use were biased in the direction of their own use. Users and non-users did not differ in accuracy of perceptions; however, across all substances and samples, they differed significantly in bias. Substance users displayed nearly perfect liberal bias, assuming their friends also used substances. Non-users displayed an opposite, conservative bias, assuming their friends did not use substances. Gender and age differences in bias also were observed, with older adolescents and females having more liberal biases than younger adolescents and males. Results suggest the importance of differentiating the effects of actual and perceived peer substance use.

The current 6-year study investigates the impact of the elementary (K-8)-to-high school (9-12) transition on the school completion outcomes of 107 adolescents from urban, minority, low-income status backgrounds. Descriptive findings provide a longitudinal profile of students' enrollment status throughout high school. Students who had graduated or were Active in the school system at the end of the study evidenced more marked change in perceptions of social support following the transition to the ninth grade compared to Inactive students, dropouts, who evidenced little change. With respect to academic performance, while both groups evidenced declines following the transition and failed to recover sustained losses, Inactive students declined more sharply in grades and attendance. Findings are discussed in terms of the mixed support for the transitional life events perspective. In addition, study limitations and directions for future research are discussed, including variables that should be considered in research with the targeted group.

Network position ( isolate , member, liaison), peer-group substance use, and their interaction were examined as predictors of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use in a sample of 163 urban sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.Two measures of peer substance use were compared: one based on social network analysis (SNA), the other on perceptions of use. Results varied by substance. For cigarettes, network position and the interaction between position and peer-group use predicted use in the model using SNA to measure peer use. Liaisons were most likely to smoke, but isolates’ and members’ smoking was significantly associated with peer smoking. For alcohol, perceptions of peer-group alcohol use predicted individual use. For marijuana, peer-group use and the interaction between position and peer use predicted use, regardless of measure. Liaisons’ marijuana use was significantly associated with peer use. The importance of SNA for understanding peer factors in adolescent substance use is discussed.

Cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and morbidity in the United States. Heightened recognition of this public health concern has led researchers from multiple and varied disciplines to address this complex and multidimensional behavior. The need for an alternative research paradigm, focusing on a transdisciplinary approach that integrates work across disciplines in order to advance the field most quickly, has been identified. This recognized need led to the development of the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURC) initiative, funded jointly by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This paper discusses the formation and early implementation stages of the initiative, including meetings that led to the development of the TTURCs, funders' and research centers' perspectives on implementation, and early observations about the products of the initiative.