Teen labels provide insight.

• Position: Substance Abuse

The labels that teenagers use to describe themselves and their peers provide insight into their drug and alcohol use, according to a study from the Research Institute on Addictions at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.).

"Headbangers," for example, are significantly more likely to use illicit drugs, whereas "jocks" are at elevated risk for problem drinking, the study maintains. Different peer crowds have distinct patterns of substance use and sexual risk-taking, asserts lead author Kathleen E. Miller, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Sociology.

The groups examined in the study were "populars," noted for their premier status in adolescent hierarchy at school; "jocks," who claim status and identity through athletics; "headbangers," who have a reputation for substance use and going against convention; and "averages," which is a default description as well as a distinct crowd.

"Headbangers reported significantly elevated levels of all six kinds of substance use we measured: total alcohol consumption, drunkenness, binge drinking, cigarette smoking, marijuana use, and other drug use," Miller points out. "Populars reported somewhat elevated levels of tobacco and marijuana use, and jocks had high levels of problem drinking, but very low levels of smoking or illicit drug use. And substance use by averages doesn't follow any identifiable pattern at all."

Miller investigated whether teens at risk for substance use gravitate toward certain crowds or whether kids learn to drink or use drugs from peers in their crowd. "It depends on the crowd," she notes. "For example, populars report moderate levels of drinking and drug use, but it is a behavior they bring with them when they join the popular crowd. In contrast, alcohol misuse among jocks actually gets worse over time once they join the jock crowd; identification with that subculture aggravates...