The current findings are broadly comparable to those reported by others who have employed genetically informative samples to control for genetic and environmental selection when exploring social influence. Cruz et al. (2012) found that genetic and shared environmental correlation contributed to the association between peer and adolescent drinking, and was supplemented by causal influences – specifically, peers’ drinking had a causal impact on adolescents’ own drinking. Similarly, Harden and colleagues (2008) reported support for both rGE and social influence; shared environmental factors were not found to be significant in that sample, which focused on adolescent substance use and peer groups. Finally, Hill and colleagues (2008) found evidence of genetic correlation, but not of social influence. All these reports used different modeling approaches than those employed in the current study.
