Accuracy and bias in adolescents' perceptions of friends' substance use.

David B Henry,Kimberly Kobus,Michael E Schoeny

doi:10.1037/a0021874

Abstract

This study tested competing hypotheses related to the false consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance by examining the accuracy and bias of adolescents' perceptions of peer substance use and the effects of their own substance use, gender, and age on perceptions of peer behavior. Two samples (ns = 163 and 2,194) that collected data on peer nominations, perceptions of peer substance use, and self-reports of substance use were used in analyses. Results from both samples provided evidence supporting the false consensus effect, that is, adolescents' reports of their friends' substance use were biased in the direction of their own use. Users and nonusers did not differ in accuracy of perceptions; however, across all substances and samples, they differed significantly in bias. Substance users displayed nearly perfect liberal bias, assuming their friends also used substances. Nonusers displayed an opposite, conservative bias, assuming their friends did not use substances. Gender and age differences in bias also were observed, with older adolescents and girls having more liberal biases than younger adolescents and boys. Results suggest the importance of differentiating the effects of actual and perceived peer substance use.

Highlights

This study tested competing hypotheses related to the false consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance by examining the accuracy and bias of adolescents’ perceptions of peer substance use, and the effects of their own substance use, gender, and age on perceptions of peer behavior
A false consensus effect is consistent with findings of weaker correlations between friend and respondent substance use behaviors when friends report their own behavior than when respondents’ perceptions of friend behavior are used (Bauman & Fisher, 1986; Fisher & Bauman, 1988; Norton, et al, 2003), and with findings that perceived friend substance use is a better predictor of an individual’s own use than is the actual behavior of friends (Ianotti & Bush, 1992; Prinstein & Wang, 2005)
We found no significant effects for gender. These results indicate that the association between perceptions of peer substance use and self-reported substance use of peers varied as a function of whether or not the participant used each substance, but not as a function of gender

Summary

Introduction

This study tested competing hypotheses related to the false consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance by examining the accuracy and bias of adolescents’ perceptions of peer substance use, and the effects of their own substance use, gender, and age on perceptions of peer behavior. This notion leads to the prediction that non-users and users alike would overestimate substance use among their peers Evidence consistent with this tendency, known as the “majority fallacy,” has been observed in overestimations of peer engagement in risk behaviors, such as alcohol consumption (Bourgeois & Bowen, 2001; Mäkelä, 1997; Prentice & Miller, 1993; Segrist, et al, 2007) and high-risk sex (Cohen & Shotland, 1996). Pluralistic ignorance is part of the theoretical foundation for normative feedback interventions that seek to address substance use and other risk behaviors by correcting inaccurate perceptions of peer attitudes and behavior (Cunningham & Selby, 2007). Suggest a more general tendency for youth to overestimate peer substance use. Lai, Ho, and Lam (2004) reported that Hong Kong youth overestimated the prevalence of adolescent smoking, regardless of their own smoking status, but that current smokers and male smokers tended to overestimate to a greater extent than others

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