Adolescents characterized by low levels of agency value avoiding conflict by pleasing others and appearing submissive and they are at decreased risk for alcohol and cigarette use (Markey et al., 2005). This suggests that substance use during this period may not serve the social goals of low agency adolescents. Peer influence during early adolescence is often not direct (e.g., pressure through coercion and teasing), rather it typically operates indirectly through perceived pressure to adopt attitudes of one’s friends to foster cohesiveness, and by establishing certain ways of thinking and behaving as normative (Bauman & Ennett, 1996; Denscombe, 2001). Despite the emphasis on unity, young adolescents afford each other discretion over their own behavior, allowing for flexibility in choosing behaviors that project a desired social image (Denscombe, 2001). Thus, abstinence in a peer group that engages in or approves of substance use but does not directly pressure its members to think or behave similarly is not expected to result in conflict. Accordingly, low agency adolescents are unlikely to feel pressure to engage in substance use to avoid conflict, and we hypothesize that peer approval/use will be weakly associated with intentions to use for adolescents low in agency.
