The study found that responsiveness and submission to social influence (encouragement by peers to use drugs) was related to substance use in the past and increased the risk for substance use in the future. This finding supports social influence theory and confirms research findings about influences from peers, family members, and others. This suggests that the risk for substance use is higher for passive children who are “vulnerable” to pleasing and desiring acceptance from others and who have not been fortified by protective environments of education and role modeling regarding the negative effects of drugs. Further research is needed in order to identify the direct links between a child’s vulnerability to social influence and his/her initiation into substance use. The survey, which was conducted in 12 primary schools and 1 secondary school in Hong Kong in 2003, contained questions that measured substance-use risk, histories of cigarette smoking, upset, violence, substance use, social influence, contextual unhappiness, social desirability, and response differentiation. The measurements relied on multiple rating scale items to record the extent of likelihood or frequency of the item measured. 5 tables and 51 references