USING INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES TO SEGMENT THE MARKET FOR AN ATTRIBUTION-BASED SUBSTANCE-ABUSE INTERVENTION PROGRAM

Prior research has shown that young people are more likely to say no t o a peer group's drug or alcohol consumption when they also ask why. T hat is, being able to explain peer substance abuse, especially in term s of normative motives, has been associated with reduced conformity. T he authors show that individual differences based on prior attitudes t oward illicit consumption and susceptibility to social influence are u seful for segmenting young people to better target and design effectiv e intervention strategies. Results from Studies 1 and 2 indicate that prior attitude toward marijuana consumption and reported marijuana usa ge affect the explanations made to account for a peer group's substanc e abuse. In Study 2, the association between normative explanations fo r peer marijuana use and intentions to smoke marijuana is shown to dep end on susceptibility to social influence. The implications of these f indings for future research and for public policy are also discussed.