Peers

• AO1

  Peers can influence an individual’s development during adolescence as they spend more time with them, and less with their family. Some psychologists may argue that peers may act as gateways to addictive behaviour.
• AO1 PT2

  O’Connell et al (2009), alcohol addiction, 3 major elements

  • Attitudes and Norms to drinking alcohol – the at-risk individual’s attitudes and norms to drinking alcohol can be influenced by associating with groups of peers who drink alcohol (NSI and ISI)
  • Opportunities to drink alcohol – The experienced peers provide more opportunities for the at risk individual to drink alcohol.
  • Individual’s perception - the individual may over-estimate how much their peers drink, and therefore drink more to ‘keep up with them’.
• AO3

  limitation - correctional research, cause and effect cannot be established, link between peers and addiction, don't know what factor effects the other first, lacks internal validity