This paper is part of a major study in drug abuse. It attempts to investigate from the social learning perspective the importance of peers in the interpersonal relationship and in drug-seeking behaviour among a group of drug abusers including adolescents and adults. The subjects included 100 drug abusers randomly selected from those registered with voluntary organizations for treatment and rehabilitation, and 100 non-abusers individually matched for sex, approximate age, ethnic group, educational stream, and neighbourhood. A questionnaire was constructed to collect biosocial and drug-use data and 11 items of them common to those on the official record were used to check the veridicality of the responses of drug abusers. Exact agreement ranged from 83% to 100%. It is found that peers were identified significantly more by the drug abusers than by the non-abusers to be the person they most associated with, and that peer group influence is a strong motivator in the trigger mechanism of drug-taking.

Data drawn from a detailed study of alcohol use among Chinese undergraduate college students in Singapore (N = 767) show identification with religious values and beliefs not to be a significant factor in terms of students' alcohol use. Students' place of residence (i.e., on campus in a hostel or off campus) was found to predict alcohol use but in a way opposite to the pattern commonly predicted - that is, students on campus tend to drink less than their off-campus counterparts. When religious values and beliefs identification as well as place of residence were examined together, it appears that these two factors have no influence on students' alcohol use.

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