New research has revealed that teens with friends outside school are more likely to drink alcohol and lie to their parents, than those whose main friendship group is at their own school. The findings add to mounting evidence that non-school friendships may be more likely to promote delinquency and alcohol use than in-school friendships, according to the researchers. The teens were asked about their in-school and non-school friendships, as well as how often they drank alcohol, skipped school and lied to their parents. The results revealed that non-school friendships were more strongly associated with deviant behaviours and alcohol use than in-school friendships. 'Also, a somewhat surprising finding was that youth who have more out of school friendships are more central in the school network and more likely to participate in school-based clubs.'

Source: Daily Mail February 10, 2021 19:03 UTC