Affiliating with peers who engage in risk behaviors such as substance use increases adolescents’ own risks of similar behaviors (Fisher, Miles, Austin, Camargo, & Colditz, 2007). Historically, this phenomenon has been explained by theories such as differential association, which suggests that pro-deviance messages within peer groups can lead to deviant behaviors (Sutherland 1973), and social learning, which suggests that individuals model the behaviors of others and conform to norms to gain social rewards such as acceptance (Bauman & Ennett, 1996; Cialdini & Trost, 1998).
