A longitudinal perspective of alcohol use among adolescents: the predictive role of peers and internalizing factors.

Alcohol is the most commonly used psychoactive substance among teenagers. Consumption is influenced by environmental factors and personal characteristics, events or experiences. High use can lead to substantial problems, especially after an early consumption. Detecting and preventing an increase of alcohol use among teenagers, through the identification of risk and protective factors, seems essential in terms of public health.
This study aimed to examine the progression of use in young teenagers, to identify protective and risk factors of alcohol use (including peers and internalizing factors) and to specifically focus on the influence of social anxiety.
A questionnaire was administered twice to 877 teenagers (49.94% female, M=15.61) with one year interval (T1 and T2). Sex, age, alcohol use, number of friends, social comparison, trait-anxiety, social anxiety and depression were assessed through validated scales. T-test for paired sample and hierarchical regressions were performed.
During the follow-up year, the average alcohol use significantly increased. A positive social comparison at T1 significantly predicted alcohol use at T2. The more teenagers positively compared themselves to their friends and felt popular, the more they consume alcohol. A similar significant effect was demonstrated for depression. The more young people manifested depressive affects at T1, the more they used alcohol at T2. However, social anxiety significantly protected from this substance use. More social anxiety at T1 was associated with less alcohol consumption at T2. The number of friends and trait-anxiety at T1 did not significantly influence alcohol use at T2.
A positive social comparison and depressive affects could be considered as risk factors, whereas social anxiety could be defined as protective factor. At this developmental period, young people suffering from social anxiety symptoms subsequently use less alcohol, maybe due to the lack of contact with this substance usually socially consumed, whereas more popular and integrated teenagers are more at risk. The present results challenge the tension-reduction model according to which alcohol is consumed to reduce anxious affects and to facilitate social relationships. However, results suggest that alcohol might be used to reduce unpleasant depressive affects.