Health values buffer social-environmental risks for adolescent alcohol misuse

Data from a representative sample of 17- to 20-year-old adolescents were an alyzed to investigate whether a health-valuing attitude could buffer the ef fects of social-environmental risk on adolescent alcohol misuse. A risk ind ex was constructed for adolescents, based on variables such as friends' dri nking, parental alcohol abuse, and poor parental monitoring and communicati on. The expected buffering interaction called for high environmental risk t o lead to greater alcohol misuse for adolescents who placed low value on he alth, but not for those who placed high value on health. The expected inter actions were obtained for 2 alcohol-related variables (total consumption an d consuming 5 or more drinks at a time).