being the ‘popular kids’) have previously been associated with dominance-behaviors, whereas preference-based measures (i.e., who teens name as teens with whom they would actually like to spend time) have not (Prinstein, in press). Thus, the phenomenon observed does not appear to be particularly likely to be linked to dominance-seeking behaviors on the part of well-liked peers. Nonetheless, the potential influence of well-liked peers with respect to substance use may be particularly important to attend to, particularly given findings that well-liked peers are themselves more likely to engage in higher levels of substance use as adolescence progresses (Allen et al., 2005).
