JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH 2002;31:433 435

INTERNATIONAL ADOLESCENT HEALTH BRIEF

Smoking and Other Substance Use as Distinct

Features of Teenage Subcultures
GERRIT A. J. van der RIJT, Ph.D., LEEN S. J. dHAENENS, Ph.D., AND
PASCALLE van STRATEN, M.Sc.

Abstract: To analyze whether subcultures play a part in

shaping the smoking behavior and other substance use
among teenagers. We expected that teenagers affiliated
with counter-cultural styles are more likely to have a
positive attitude toward the use of substances than members of teenage subcultures that embrace the dominant
culture. Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2002
KEY WORDS:

Adolescents
Smoking behavior
Substance use
Teenage subcultures
Netherlands

In the Netherlands prevention programs have only

minor effects on the smoking habits of teenagers.
Indeed, the smoking (starting) rates among teenagers
remained almost constant for years, with a recent
tendency to grow slightly [1]. The reasons for this are
unknown. Research has shown that smoking behavior among teenagers is mainly influenced by the
smoking behavior of friends, parents, and siblings. A
possible mechanism, and one which has not been yet
studied, is the impact of teenage subcultures. Teenagers are inclined to identify themselves with various subcultures, which are distinguished by such
factors as music style, clothing, general appearance,

From the Department of Communication, University of Nijmegen,

Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Address correspondence to: Gerrit A.J. van der Rijt, University of
Nijmegen, Department of Communication, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE
Nijmegen, Netherlands. E-mail: g.vanderrijt@maw.kun.nl
Manuscript accepted March 25, 2002.

and behavior [2,3]. Some teenage subcultures may be

more conducive to smoking than others.

Teenage Subcultures
In the 1970s, Hebdige [4] studied the way teenagers
expressed themselves through different lifestyles. He
observed that different groups of teenagers developed their own expressive forms to create their own
identity. Some of them did so by rebelling against
their culture of origin (working class) or parent
culture, to express a different identity, an otherness.
To an outside observer, the various teenage subcultures are only recognizable through pointers such
as clothing and overall appearance, music preferences, behavior, language, and symbol use. Another
distinguishing factor may be the use of substances
(drugs, alcohol, and tobacco): It can be expected that
subcultures that rebel against prevailing norms will
be more inclined to use substances that are negatively valued by the dominant culture. Although
some of these substances (alcohol and tobacco) are
widely used in the dominant culture, they are imbued with a negative value and are especially forbidden to, or withheld from, teenagers. Teenagers
who join subcultures adhering to the dominant
norms and values will abstain from the use of such
substances, whereas countercultural-oriented teenagers will experience a climate in which the use of
such substances is more rewarding.
Therefore, we expect (Hypothesis 1), that teenagers affiliated with counter-cultural styles will have a
more positive attitude toward the use of recreational
substances. We also expect (Hypothesis 2) that they

Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2002

Published by Elsevier Science Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010

1054-139X/02/$see front matter

PII S1054-139X(02)00394-4

van der RIJT ET AL.

434

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH Vol. 31, No. 5

Table 1. Smoking Behavior, Alcohol and Soft Drugs Use (Self-reported) and Positive Orientation Toward the Use of
Substances in Teenage Subcultures

Has tried smoking

Smokes daily
Drinks alcohol
Uses soft drugs
Positive orientation
towards the use of
substances (mean score
on factor)a
Total (n)

Hip-Hop
%

Gabber
%

Skate
%

Normalo
%

Netjes
%

80
20
75
23
.503s,no,ne

83
31
89
17
.493no,ne

55
5
71
7
.034

47
6
64
3
.099

51
12
65
1
.180

Chi2

df

Sig.

34.17
35.05
10.54
53.58

4
4
4
4

.000
.000
.032
.000
.000

One way F
12.84
4
64

29

88

394

102

Superscripts indicate significant (p .05) differences between the group under scrutiny and the groups indicated by means of their
superscript marks, tested by one-way variance post hoe test (Scheffe).

are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and use soft

drugs than members of teenage subcultures that
embrace the dominant culture.

Methods
To test our hypotheses, data were gathered using
written questionnaires administered to groups of
teenagers aged 12 to 16 years by their teachers in the
classroom. The teachers were instructed to make sure
the questionnaire was completed individually, without interaction with other students. First, 60 institutions were randomly chosen among all Dutch secondary schools. Then six classes per school were
randomly selected. Five schools spread throughout
the country agreed to participate. Reasons for not
participating were not research-related: Most schools
refused to cooperate because they could not manage
nor organize the administration of the questionnaire
within the requested time. Thirty classes (780 students) actually completed the questionnaire. As to
the Institutional Review Board approval, it should be
noted that we obtained verbal or oral permission of
the participating subjects for carrying out our questionnaires. No formal protocol is required in the
Netherlands for carrying out surveys in the social
sciences.
Measurement Instruments
To identify the subcultural affiliation of the respondents, two methods were used. The first consisted in
asking directly which of 11 subcultural groups [Jungle, Hip-Hop, Skate, Gabber (mate), Superboer (superfarmer), Punk, Alto, Normalo (normal), Metal,
Straight Edge, Netjes (neatly)] suited respondents
the best. It should be noted that Gabber, Superboer,

Normalo, and Netjes are specifically Dutch subcultural groups with no exact terminological counterpart anywhere else.
The second method was more indirect: A short
description of each subculture was given and
respondents were asked to indicate the extent to
which they recognized themselves in each subculture. The descriptions were derived from a researchbacked inventory of Dutch subcultural styles published in 1997 by Elsevier Magazine. To test whether
the two measurement procedures matched, correlations (gamma) between the direct and indirect identification of each subculture were calculated. All the
correlations except for Normalo appeared to be rather
strong, meaning that the self-indicated subcultural
affiliation fits with the identifications provided in the
descriptions. The lower result of the Normalo subculture could be explained by the fact that these adolescents were more reluctant to identify with a specific
teenage subculture.

Results
Table 1 shows that the results support the hypotheses. Subcultures differ significantly in substance use
and positive orientation toward substance use. HipHoppers and Gabbers include the highest numbers of
users, whereas Normalos and Netjes show much
lower rates for smoking. In terms of the subcultures
under scrutiny, our hypothesis, that counter-cultural
subcultures are a rich breeding ground for substance
use, seems supported. Skaters, on the other hand,
seem more in tune with parent culture oriented
subcultures: They score even lower on daily smoking. They get along very well with their parents, at
least in comparison with the Normalo and Netjes
groups, which pleads in favor of a parent culture

November 2002

orientation. Moreover, considering the fact that this

subculture evolves around a sport (skating), it seems
only natural that its members value healthy behavior. We observe that alcohol use is more common in
all subcultures than smoking and soft drug use.
Although the differences in alcohol use among the
subcultures are less pronounced, they are by far the
most pronounced in the case of soft drug use.

SUBCULTURAL GROUNDING OF TEENAGE SMOKING

435

at all, and provides an excellent opportunity to

express counter-cultural identity. Smoking falls in
between the other two substance types: Although not
uncommon in the dominant parent culture, smoking
is valued very negatively by the dominant culture,
which again provides an opportunity to express
counter-cultural feelings.

Limitations
Discussion
Our search of the literature implies that teenage
subcultures develop by coming to terms with, and
positioning themselves in relationship to, the culture
of origin, the parent culture, or both. The chief
characteristic of any teenage subculture will then be
whether it adheres to the parent culture or rebels
against it and its norms and values. Our aim was to
show that youth subcultures very likely differ in the
extent to which they advance substance use, and that
this different affect is related to the extent in which
subcultures are counterculture-oriented.
The research findings support the suppositions on
counter-cultural connections with substance use very
well. Also, the findings on varying strengths of the
relationships of subcultures with different substances fit the counter-cultural picture. These findings are easy to explain from a counter-cultural
perspective: Although alcohol consumption (unless
excessive) is very common and rather positively
valued in the dominant culture (albeit not permitted
for younger teenagers), soft drug use is not allowed

Although the data seem to fit the theoretical suppositions well, we recognize that this research cannot
offer definitive proof of the theory. For whereas in
the theory causal processes are involved, the crosssectional research design does not allow such testing
of causal processes. To establish causal processes a
longitudinal design is necessary. Our research shows
the need for such research, all the more because
prevention programs should be set up quite differently from current ones if this counter-cultural impact on substance use is true.

References
1. Dutch Foundation on Smoking and Health. The Hague: Stivoro,
1998, Jaarverslag (Year Report).
2. Wallace C, Kovacheva K. Teenagers cultures and consumption
in Eastern and Western Europe, an overview. Teenagers Soc
1996;28:189 214.
3. van der Rijt GAJ, dHaenens L, Jansen RHA, et al. Young
people and music television in the Netherlands. Eur J Commun
2000;1:79 91.
4. Hebdige D. Subculture. The Meaning of Style. London: Routledge, 1979.