Rich pupils 'more likely to copy bad behaviour'

Middle-class pupils are more likely to copy classmates in smoking, drinking and drug-taking than students from poorer backgrounds, according to research to be presented at the Royal Economic Society's annual conference this week.

Evidence that the richer a pupils' parents are, the more likely they will be copycats was uncovered by Delta, the Department and Laboratory of Applied and Theoretical Economics, in Paris.

"Rich kids' desire to rebel against their parents" may be the key, researchers Andrew Clark and Youenn Lohéac said. Their study also found teenage girls were more easily influenced than teenage boys. Male students copied only other males but female pupils were affected by the behaviour of both sexes.

The children of smokers were found to be more immune to peer-group influence, possibly because they were better informed. The study analysed data from the Add Health survey in answers from 9,000 adolescents in 130 US schools. Dr Clark said the Government could achieve more from its anti-drink and drug programmes by targeting "influential" pupils. In 2002, half of Americans aged 17 and 18 had tried cannabis, 57 per cent cigarettes and 75 per cent alcohol, he said.

"Not all adolescents are the same in terms of either their influence or their susceptibility," he said. "Boys are more influential than girls, and children of non-smoking rich parents are more susceptible. The most effective use of resources in the fight against adolescent drinking and smoking should bear these differences in mind."

Dr Clark said his findings had a "potentially reassuring" message for ministers because copycat behaviour magnified the results of anti-smoking, drink or drugs initiatives. There was also evidence that young adolescents copied older pupils. "What may have looked like an initially small effect of government policy on, say, smoking will grow over time."