The Influence of Delinquent Peer Affiliation on Substance Use: The Moderating Effects of Anxiety and Depression

• Author: Jeffrey T. Ward,James V. Ray,Thalia Rodriguez,Marie Skubak Tillyer
• Date: 01 July 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042619832019
• Published date: 01 July 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042619832019

Journal of Drug Issues

2019, Vol. 49(3) 450 –464

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042619832019

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Article

The Influence of Delinquent Peer

Affiliation on Substance Use: The

Moderating Effects of Anxiety and

Depression

Thalia Rodriguez1, Jeffrey T. Ward2, Marie Skubak Tillyer3,

and James V. Ray4

Abstract

Although the effects of peer substance use on adolescent substance use are well documented,

little is known about whether internalizing behaviors—anxiety and depression—exacerbate or

attenuate the link between peer substance use and substance use. The present study uses data

from the 12- and 15-year-old cohorts from the Project on Human Development in Chicago

Neighborhoods (PHDCN) and multivariate generalized regression models to examine whether

anxiety and/or depression moderate peer effects on adolescent substance use. Results indicate

that adolescents who exhibited high anxiety and depressive symptoms are uninfluenced by their

peers’ substance use, but those who exhibit lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms

use substances more when they have more substance using peers. Our findings support social

learning and peer contagion explanations of substance use, but suggest these processes are

contingent on current emotional states. Interventions should consider the differential effects of

peers given one’s level of anxiety and depression.

Keywords

peer delinquency, anxiety, depression, substance use

Introduction

Peer associations play a pivotal role in adolescent development (Warr, 2002), having both benefi-

cial and adverse consequences. Decades of research have documented the tendency for offenders

to engage in various delinquent behaviors while in the company of peers (Empey, 1982; Erickson,

1971; Klein, 1969; Osgood, Wilson, O’Malley, Bachman, & Johnston, 1996). Peer influence can

operate through situational opportunities (Osgood et al., 1996), but Akers’s social learning theory

holds that associating with peers leads to the learning of antisocial behavior and identifies

1University of Indianapolis, IN, USA

2Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

3University of Texas at San Antonio, USA

4University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jeffrey T. Ward, Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, 527 Gladfelter Hall, 1115 Polett Walk,

Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.

Email: jeffrey.ward@temple.edu

832019JODXXX10.1177/0022042619832019Journal of Drug IssuesRodriguez et al.

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