Peer Effects, Unobserved Factors and Risk Behaviours: An Analysis of Alcohol Abuse and Truancy among Adolescents

Rosa Duarte, José-Julián Escario and José Alberto Molina

No 2589, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to examine the factors which affect alcohol abuse and truancy among adolescents. We propose a new theoretical specification in which alcohol abuse and truancy appear as derived demands, given that they condition peer group and family acceptance, and we introduce unobserved individual effects that can influence both behaviours. Empirically, our paper develops an analysis where, after controlling for the existence of unobserved individual factors affecting both decisions, we test for peer influences. Our results first show evidence that alcohol abuse and truancy share unobserved factors affecting both decisions, and then confirm the existence of significant peer group influences on these two deviant behaviours.

Keywords: peer; truancy; alcohol; risk behaviours; unobserved factors; bivariate probit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I12 I20 I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2007-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-hrm, nep-soc and nep-ure
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Published - published as 'Peer Effects, Unobserved Factors and Risk Behaviours in Adolescence' in: Revista de Economía Aplicada, 2011, 29 (55), 125-152

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