Anxiety as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Deviant Peer Association and Substance Use: Does the Specific Dimension of Anxiety Matter?

• Author: Thomas Wojciechowski
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00220426221092772
• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Date: 01 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/00220426221092772

Journal of Drug Issues

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DOI: 10.1177/00220426221092772

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Article

Anxiety as a Moderator of the

Relationship Between Deviant Peer

Association and Substance Use:

Does the Specific Dimension of

Anxiety Matter?

Thomas Wojciechowski1

Abstract

Deviant peer association has been identified as a risk factor for substance use. Anxiety has been

examined as a moderator of this relationship in a limited capacity. Despite this, investigations

of specific dimensions of anxiety as moderators of this relationship remain understudied. This

study examined three dimensions of anxiety as moderators: physiological anxiety, worry/

oversensitivity anxiety, and social concerns/concentration anxiety. The Pathways to Desistance

data were used in analyses. Ordered logistic regression models were used to assess relationships

of interest for three substance use outcomes: heavy episodic drinking, marijuana use, and

cigarette use. Findings indicated that social concerns/concentration anxiety moderated the

relationship between deviant peer association and marijuana use, but, contrary to predictions,

a protective effect at higher levels of this form of anxiety was observed. Worry/oversensitivity

anxiety also appeared to exert a significant and negative direct effect on all three substance use

outcomes. Implications are discussed.

Keywords

anxiety, deviant peer association, substance use

Introduction

Deviant peer association has been identified by prior research as a risk factor predicting a range

of substance use outcomes (Lee et al., 2017; Van Ryzin et al., 2012; Wojciechowski, 2020).

While this is well established, there remain relevant questions regarding how this relationship

may be conditioned by other factors. Anxiety is one factor that has been considered in this regard

by prior research. Anxiety refers to a condition characterized by persistent unease and worry that

may be connected to a discrete upcoming event or happening or may be more general in its pre-

sentation also. The condition may be extremely pervasive and may also manifest as a diagnosable

mental illness if severe, with a lifetime morbidity risk around 9% in the United States (American

Psychiatric Association, 2013). While prior research has indicated that anxiety may condition the

1School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

Corresponding Author:

Thomas Wojciechowski, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, 655 Auditorium Road, East Lansing, MI

48824, USA.

Email: wojcie42@msu.edu

092772

JODXXX10.1177/00220426221092772Journal of Drug IssuesWojciechowski

2

2023, Vol. 53(1) 96–113

Wojciechowski 97

relationship between deviant peer association and substance use (Anderson et al., 2011;

Marshcall-Lévesque et al., 2014; Rodriguez et al., 2019), there is a dearth of research that has

explored how different dimensions of anxiety may impact this relationship when considered in

conjunction with one another. This study sought to bridge this gap in the extent literature by

examining how three specific dimensions of anxiety may moderate the relationship between

deviant peer association and substance use, those dimensions being: physiological anxiety,

worry/oversensitivity anxiety, and social concerns/concentration anxiety.

Deviant Peer Association as a Risk Factor for Substance Use

As noted above, deviant peer association has been identified as a robust risk factor predicting

substance use (Kim-Spoon et al., 2019; Price et al., 2019; Wojciechowski, 2018). Perhaps the

most relevant criminological theoretical perspective aiding to explain this relationship is Akers’

(1973) social learning theory. This framework posits that exposure to individuals who engage in

deviant behavior, like substance use, provide models through which individuals learn the motiva-

tions, rationalization, and techniques pertaining to engagement in deviant behavior. The theory is

general in the sense that prosocial behaviors are transmitted through a similar learning process.

Individuals may provide definitions that are favorable or unfavorable toward a specific behavior.

Exposure to more definitions that are favorable toward a behavior then should increase the likeli-

hood that an individual will engage in the given behavior themselves. For substance use, this may

entail exposure to peers use drugs or alcohol themselves and present models for engagement in

the behavior for a given target individual. There also exist other mechanisms by which peers may

influence behavior in this regard. Processes pertaining to reinforcement or punishment of a

behavior may also increase or decrease the likelihood of future engagement in said behaviors.

Reinforcement refers to any action or potential action that may be taken by other individuals to

increase the likelihood of future engagement in a behavior. For example, peers may praise or

encourage a target individuals first engagement in substance use and this may lead the target

individual to feel rewarded for engagement in the behavior, thus, increasing the likelihood that

they will do so again in the future. Punishment is the opposite of this process, as it refers to

actions or potential actions that may reduce the likelihood of future engagement in a behavior.

Prosocial peers may indicate a reticence to maintain relationships with an individual upon dis-

covering that they have been engaging in substance use. The potential for losing these friendship

ties then may act as a threatened punishment that should result in lower risk for the individual

engaging in substance use in the future. It is through these highlighted mechanisms that peer

relationships are relevant for understanding behavior and why deviant peer ties may specifically

be important for engaging in antisocial behavior like substance use. Prior research has indicated

support for the relevance of these mechanisms for predicting substance use (Pratt et al., 2010;

Kruis et al., 2020). For example, Pratt et al., 2010 provide a meta-analysis indicating that all

mechanisms of the theory are relevant for predicting behavior, though differential association

and modeling/imitation seem most relevant. However, there remains continued need to under-

stand how individual characteristics may amplify or attenuate the salience of deviant peer asso-

ciation for influencing engagement in substance use. One key factor here may be anxiety.

Anxiety Dimensions as Moderators of the Relationship Between Deviant Peer

Association and Substance Use

The persistent unease and worry that characterizes the mental condition of anxiety may present

an important psychological factor for understanding the relationship between deviant peer asso-

ciation and substance use. It might be expected that adolescents who report greater anxiety may