Interview with Claudine Perez-Diaz, a researcher at CNRS/Cesames (Center for Research on Psychotropic Drugs, Mental Health, and Society) at Paris-Descartes University. Why and how do young people get together with their peers to drink alcohol? Sociologist Claudine Perez-Diaz distinguishes two groups when it comes to risk-taking: “individualists” seek to demonstrate their ability to drink, while “fatalists” are concerned with blending into the group. The peer pressure comes from within the group, especially if heavy and rapid drinking is the initiation ritual.