We found some support for our hypothesis that communal adolescents would be more susceptible to perceived peer approval/use on intentions to use alcohol. Adolescents who endorse strong communal social goals place a high value on solidarity and social connectedness, and thus may be more susceptible to peer influence compared to those reporting low communal goals. Research on prototypes suggests that adolescents associate drinking alcohol with an image of someone who is social and fits in (Andrews & Peterson, 2006; Norman, Armitage, & Quigley, 2007). Accordingly, communal adolescents may view drinking as a means of connecting with others, thus increasing belongingness to a peer group that approves of alcohol use. Although this moderating effect of communal goals was in the predicted direction, it did not reach conventional criteria for statistical significance; however, the effect sizes were comparable to statistically significant moderational effects found for intentions to smoke.
