Patterns of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Substance Use Among Young Adult Peer Crowds

Abstract

Introduction: The association between peer crowd identification and substance use is well documented among adolescents, but less is known about substance use among young adult peer crowds. Methods: This study leverages data from the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort Study (Wave 8, June-July 2015), a nationally representative cohort sample of young adults aged 18-34 years. The current cross-sectional analyses (conducted in 2018) focused on 1,341 individuals aged 18-24 years in this sample. Participants reported their peer crowd identification and current use of alcohol, marijuana, other drugs, and tobacco (cigarettes, little cigars/cigarillos, e-cigarettes, hookah, smokeless tobacco). Adjusted logistic regression models assessed associations between peer crowd identification and substance use. Results: In general, young adults who identified as homebody, young professional, or religious had lower odds of substance use than their counterparts. Young adults who identified as social/ partier were more likely to be current users of alcohol, marijuana, any tobacco, cigarettes, and ecigarettes than those who did not identify as social/partier. Those who identified as alternative were more likely to be current users of marijuana and other drugs than those not identified as alternative. Those who identified as country were more likely than those not identified as country to be current users of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Those who identified as hip hop were more likely to be current users of marijuana and e-cigarettes.

Using Peer Crowd Affiliation to Address Dual Use of Cigarettes and E-Cigarettes among San Francisco Bay Area Young Adults: A Cross Sectional Study

“…Indeed, our estimates of dual use ranged from 2% among Young Professionals to 14–15% among Hipster and Hip Hop peer crowds. This finding is somewhat consistent with prior studies, which found that peer crowds exhibited differential risks of tobacco use [ 20 , 21 , 27 , 47 ]. Our study extends the peer crowd literature by identifying high-risk peer crowds of cigarette and e-cigarette dual use.…”

“…Peer crowds are defined as macro-level connections between individuals with similar core values, interests, and lifestyles across geographic areas [ 19 ]. Common peer crowds among US young adults include “Hipster” (value creativity and individuality, prefer indie rock music, and set trends), “Hip Hop” (prefer hip hop music and value strength, honor, and respect), “Country” (prefer country music, engage in outdoor activities, and value tradition, hard work, patriotism, community, and family), “Partier” (prioritize success and go out to bars and nightclubs), “Homebody” or “Mainstream” (prefer a quite night at home and prioritize family, career, and religion), and “Young Professionals” (value their careers and prioritize networking) [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

“…Emerging evidence showed that peer crowd affiliation has been associated with a variety of health behaviors among adolescents and young adults, including substance use, depression, bullying, violence, and obesity [ 19 , 21 , 25 , 26 ]. In the context of tobacco use, peer crowd affiliation consistently predicted tobacco use among young adults independent of demographic characteristics.…”

“…In the context of tobacco use, peer crowd affiliation consistently predicted tobacco use among young adults independent of demographic characteristics. For example, Young Professional and Homebody groups demonstrated lower risks of tobacco use, while Hip Hop demonstrated a higher risk of tobacco use [ 20 , 21 , 27 ]. Given its association with tobacco use behaviors, peer crowd affiliation can be a promising criterion for audience segmentation in targeted communications to reduce tobacco use [ 18 , 28 ].…”

“…One study among 3368 young adults found that the Hip Hop and Hipster peer crowds reported the most frequent use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and cigars [ 20 ]. Another study used a nationally representative sample of 1341 young adults and found that the Partier peer crowd was more likely to use cigarettes and e-cigarettes while the Country crowd was more likely to use cigarettes and smokeless tobacco [ 21 ]. However, extant research on peer crowd affiliation is still limited in understanding poly-tobacco use among young adults, particularly dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which has become the most popular tobacco use pattern for this age group [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 8 ].…”