Much research on heroin initiation shows that most people use heroin initially with friends or family. However, there is little research examining why those who use heroin would initiate others to its use, and conversely, whether and why one might try to prevent initial heroin use in others. Following recent work on peer influence on crime and delinquency, we test the hypothesis that those with higher levels of self-control are less likely to initiate others to heroin use and are more likely to try to prevent others from using for the first time. The sample included 370 persons entering an opioid withdrawal program. We find that those with low self-control are more likely to initiate others, but there is no relationship between self-control and trying to prevent initiation. We further investigate self-reported motives for initiating others, and find a mix of self-interested and more altruistic motives for initiating others.

关于海洛因引发的许多研究表明，大多数人最初是与朋友或家人一起使用海洛因的。但是，很少有研究检查为什么使用海洛因的人会引发其他人使用海洛因，反之，是否以及为什么有人会尝试阻止他人最初使用海洛因。在有关同伴对犯罪和违法行为的影响的最新研究工作之后，我们检验了以下假设：那些具有较高自我控制能力的人不太可能启动他人使用海洛因的行为，而更有可能试图阻止他人首次使用海洛因。样本包括370人进入阿片类药物戒断计划。我们发现，自我控制能力低的人更有可能发起其他活动，但自我控制与阻止发起活动之间没有关系。我们会进一步调查自我报告的动机来激发他人，