Gender and Chain Reactions in Teenagers’ Social Networks

Over the past ten years or so there has been renewed research interest in the relative impact of peer selection and peer influence on the increasing similarity of teenagers in their substance use. Researchers have concluded that either peer selection or peer influence explained the similarity. This paper examines this research question differently using complete network data and arrives at different conclusions. Findings demonstrate that similarity in the substance use of teenagers and their peers is explained by either peer selection or peer influence for some, by both peer selection and peer influence for others, and by neither for others. Using a sociological approach and a social network perspective this paper demonstrates how chain reactions result in similarity in the substance use of teenagers in their peer groups, by drawing together those who are similar with those who are not. The paper demonstrates how chain reactions involve peer selection, the patterning of peer ties and peer influence, and explores how gender affects all aspects of the chain reaction process.