In the current study we examine the association between perceived peer approval/use of substances and intentions to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. We focus on intentions because the prevalence of substance use is expected to be very low in our sample of early adolescents, and because intentions are significant predictors of future use (Andrews et al., 2008). Moreover, we limit our study to alcohol and cigarettes because these tend to be the substances that are first tried in the early stages of substance use (Kandel, 1975; Kandel & Yamaguchi, 2002).
