The misperception of injunctive and descriptive marijuana norms among adolescents

Peers are an important source of information and social influence for adolescents, and past research has documented that peer influence is a powerful predictor of adolescents' involvement in risky behaviors, including drug and alcohol use. While perceived peer norms influence decisions to engage in these behaviors, past research has suggested that norms on which young people base their decisions often are not accurate. These inaccuracies result in students reporting that their peers approve of alcohol use more than they do, or engage in drinking behavior more than they do, both misperceptions having serious implications for their intentions to engage in future use. The current study examined marijuana descriptive and injunctive norm misperception among adolescents, and sought to establish the prevalence of normative misperceptions in this age group. In addition, the study examined possible moderators of misperception, the types of information that are used to create both descriptive and injunctive norms, and how misperception varies by the target group in question: peers at school or close friends. To address the research questions, a survey was administered to 395 high school students in southern California. The questionnaire included measures to assess participants' perceptions of marijuana norms among their friends and peers, along with measures of their own marijuana use and intention, norm information, and potential moderating variables such as group identification and self-monitoring. The results indicated that participants misperceived both types of norms and reported that their friends and peers use and approve of marijuana more than they do, with their reports of peer at school norms more exaggerated than friend norms, for both descriptive and injunctive norms. In addition, the results indicated that exaggeration varied by participants' own use and intention, with slightly different patterns emerging for injunctive and descriptive norms between the nonusers, those who had experimented or intended to use, and those who use more regularly. Lastly, the moderating variables of self-monitoring and group identification made small contributions to the analyses. Overall, the results suggest that there is a need for prevention programs to correct erroneous marijuana peer norms, and that such efforts should begin with adolescent populations.