Adolescent alcohol involvement and the experience of social environments

By utilizing a time-sampling technique, this study investigated patterns in the amount of time spent with and the experience of different social compa nionships in relation to alcohol involvement (AI). European American adoles cents in 9th through 12th grade (N = 215) carried electronic pagers for 1 w eek and completed self-report forms in response to signals received at rand om times. Results indicated that AT was related to spending more time with peers and less time with family. Although average overall mood states did n ot vary as a function of Al, variability of affect and investment across co ntexts were significantly related to Al. When the experience of specific so cial contexts was examined, the results indicated that greater Al was relat ed to (a) lower affect, greater negative mood, and feelings of social isola tion with family; (b) almost no difference in the experience of time spent with peers; and (c) lower affect when alone. Curvilinear relations between Al and feelings of investment with family and when alone indicate that mode rate AT was associated with the experience of greater motivation for activi ties in these contexts.