Peer-reviewed article
Latent Clusters of Peer Behaviors in Childhood and Relevance for Understanding Substance Use in Early Adolescence.
Wojciechowski TW ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study analyzed data from nearly 12,000 US children aged 9-10 years to identify groups of children based on their peer behaviors and examine which groups were most likely to use substances by early adolescence. Researchers found three distinct peer behavior clusters: neutral, prosocial and antisocial peers, and prosocial peers only. Children whose peers engaged in both prosocial and antisocial behaviors showed the highest risk for substance use in early adolescence. The findings suggest that peer behavior patterns in childhood are meaningful predictors of later substance use risk.
Key points
- Three latent peer behavior classes were identified in childhood: neutral, prosocial and antisocial peers, and prosocial peers only
- Assignment to the 'prosocial and antisocial peers' class predicted increased substance use risk in early adolescence
- Youth with peers involved in both prosocial and antisocial behaviors presented the highest risk for substance use
- Study tracked 11,880 US children annually from age 9-10 years starting in 2017
- Full behavior profiles including both antisocial and prosocial peer behaviors were examined, addressing a gap in prior research
Limitations
The study does not examine causality or mechanisms explaining why mixed peer groups predict higher substance use risk. Individual-level factors and other confounding variables that may influence both peer selection and substance use are not fully discussed.
Abstract
Peers have been found to be an important influence on adolescent behavior. However, there remains limited research examining childhood peer behaviors as predictors of later substance use. Examinations have not included full behavior profiles comprising both antisocial and prosocial peer behaviors. This study sought to identify latent clusters of peer behaviors during childhood and their relevance for understanding substance use. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) dataset was analyzed. These data are composed of the full ABCD sample of 11,880 United States children aged 9-10 years at baseline and surveyed annually, with data collection beginning in 2017. A multistage cluster sampling methodology was used to collect data from catchment areas surrounding the 21 study sites. Latent class analysis was used to identify peer behavior clusters. Logistic regression was used to examine the relevance of childhood latent peer class assignment for predicting substance use in early adolescence. A three-class solution was identified (neutral, prosocial and antisocial peers, prosocial peers). Assignment to the prosocial and pntisocial peers peer class predicted increased substance use risk. Findings indicate that youth with peers involved in both prosocial and antisocial behaviors in childhood present the highest risk for substance use in early adolescence.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
Limited understanding of how childhood peer behavior patterns predict adolescent substance use risk
- Intervention
- Identification and classification of peer behavior clusters in childhood to predict substance use outcomes in early adolescence
- Population
- 11,880 US children aged 9-10 years at baseline from 21 study sites across the United States
Key finding
Three-class solution identified: neutral peers, prosocial and antisocial peers, and prosocial peers only