Introduction Harmful drinking among young people is common in Australia and many other countries. Social norms and their influence on adolescents’ alcohol consumption behaviours have received much research attention in recent years. However, there is limited understanding of how social norms related to alcohol are developed and transmitted across social networks and a specific tool that measures these constructs has yet to be developed. This paper outlines the rationale and protocol for the design and validation of a multidimensional survey instrument which measures the development and transmission pathways of alcohol-related norms among adolescents. A longer term aim is to apply the instrument in a respondent-driven sampling study with a large adolescent cohort.
Methods and analysis Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and relevant literature will guide the design of the online survey instrument. Feedback from a practitioner-based stakeholder committee, academic expert panel reviews, focus groups and interviews with adolescents aged 13–17 years in Perth, Western Australia (WA) will serve to ascertain content and face validity. A test–retest will be conducted using a purposive sample of students (n=400) at secondary schools in Perth. The instrument’s psychometric properties will be analysed, including exploratory factor analyses, discriminant validity, internal consistency and test–retest reliability.