Adolescent deviant peer clustering as an amplifying mechanism underlying the progression from early substance use to late adolescent dependence

Background Early substance use co‐occurs with youths' self‐organization into deviant peer groups in which substance use is central to social interaction. We hypothesized that the social dynamics of deviant peer groups amplify the risk of progressing from early use to later dependence, and that this influence occurs over and above escalations in use that typically accompany early substance use and membership in deviant groups. Methods Our study...