A total of 150 secondary second grade students in one school named up to six "best friends." This allowed for the categorization of each adolescent as a group member, a group peripheral, or a relatively isolated individual. The study found that risk-taking behavior occurred across all social positions. At both time points of the study, the behavior of pupils on the periphery of peer groups reflected both the gender and the behavior of the groups themselves. At the second time point of the study there were far more pupils on the periphery of risk-taking groups than on the periphery of non-risk-taking groups. The relationship apparently verifies that risk-taking and non-risk-taking behavior is learned predominantly in the context of peer clusters, and that risk-taking peer clusters act as a greater focus of influence and selection of peripheral pupils at a key stage in their development than do non-risk-taking peer clusters. These findings are relevant in the debate about peer pressure in relation to smoking and drug use. 3 figures, 1 table, 25 references, and appended study instruments