"Peer pressure was positively associated with drinking for girls and not boys," said Bruce Simons-Morton, who led the study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The study was based on confidential surveys on drinking and smoking given to 4,200 teens in Maryland's junior-high schools.

A number of experts said it's not surprising that girls are swayed by their friends more easily than boys. "I'm not surprised at all. Girls go through this tremendous emotional and hormonal change as they go to seventh grade," said Shannon McLinden, an author on the subject and a speaker on teenage confidence. "The change comes at a time when being your own person and trying to stand on your own feet is really important."

The study also found that the main indicator of whether teens began drinking or smoking is whether they have friends who do. Simons-Morton said this held true for boys and girls.

"We found that the single most important factor is the behavior of their five closest friends," he said. "These teens are nine times more likely to smoke than early adolescents who had no friends that smoke or drink."

In addition, the study revealed that most teens who drink and smoke think their parents don't care. "Teens who said their parents would be upset if they were caught drinking or smoking were much less likely to drink or smoke, and the opposite is also true," Simons-Morton said.

The study was published in the journal Health Education and Behavior.

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