Are adolescents who attend schools with a high level of alcohol use and binge drinking more likely to use alcohol and binge drink themselves? This paper analyzes peer effects in adolescent drinking based on a survey of 13,070 adolescents conducted in Sweden in 2005. The empirical analysis uses a multi-level logistic model to account for non-observable heterogeneity between the schools and the results show that attending a school with a high level of alcohol use and frequent binge drinking is a strong predictor of alcohol use and binge drinking for the individual. Hardly any significant interaction effects are detected, implying that peer influence is similar across different adolescent sub-groups. Looking at adolescents with different ethnic backgrounds, it is found that the drinking-pattern of the Swedish majority population has a significant effect on drinking by Swedish individuals and immigrants from Nordic and European countries, but no effect on drinking by immigrants from non-European countries. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

immigrants Sweden Social interaction Schools Alcohol use Peer-effects Adolescents

empirical analysis immigrant Interpersonal Relations Alcohol Drinking drinking behavior alcohol consumption Adolescent Psychology human Schools alcohol geographic distribution social interaction Logistic Models Health Surveys population structure drinking heterogeneity child behavior Sweden Humans ethnic difference Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants empirical research female adolescence European Union peer group Article Adolescent Behavior Social Environment multilevel analysis European immigrant health survey