GENDER DIFFERENCES REGARDING PEER INFLUENCE AND ATTITUDE TOWARD SUBSTANCE-ABUSE

Gender role socialization differentially influences attitudes toward s ubstance abuse for boys and girls. Students (n = 968, 456 = males, M a ge = 16.20, SD = 1.20) were administered a questionnaire to assess the ir perceptions of attitudes toward substance abuse. Boys' approval was significantly different than the level of approval estimated for girl s on teenagers drinking beer or wine coolers chi(2)(4,n = 931) = 418.5 8, p<.00001, drinking hard liquor chi(2)(4,n = 921) = 432.49, p<.00001 , driving after drinking chi(2)(4,n = 924) = 492.32, p<.00001, smoking marijuana chi(2)(4,n = 921) = 609.62, p<.00001 smoking cigarettes chi (2)(4,n = 927) = 480.35, p<.00001, taking diet pills to lose weight ch i(2)(4,n = 914) = 185.05, p<.00001, and taking diet pills to get high (chi(2)(4,n = 921) = 428.43, p<.00001. Teens viewed getting drunk at a party as more acceptable than driving after drinking (2)(4,n = 921) = 264.10, p<.00001, but gave boys more approval than girls for driving after drinking. Possible implications of these findings are discussed.