This report investigates the influence of friendship groups on teenagers’ drinking.
The researchers identified eight groups of friends covering a mix of social class, gender and education, using data from the Belfast Youth Development Study. The 41 participants – aged 18 or 19 when interviewed – were asked about their drinking between the ages of 12 and 18. In this way, the researchers construct a picture of the groups’ drinking culture and how it developed as the friends grew older.
The report: