{"id":38734,"date":"2016-05-27T23:39:22","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T23:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/social-media-use-may-help-identify-students-at-risk-of-alcohol-problems\/"},"modified":"2016-05-27T23:39:22","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T23:39:22","slug":"social-media-use-may-help-identify-students-at-risk-of-alcohol-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/social-media-use-may-help-identify-students-at-risk-of-alcohol-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Social media use may help identify students at risk of alcohol problems"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Credit: Scott Beale \/ Laughing Squid under a Creative Commons license.
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Research from North Carolina State University and Ohio University finds that having an \u201calcohol identity\u201d puts college students at greater risk of having drinking problems \u2013 and that posting about alcohol use on social media sites is actually a stronger predictor of alcohol problems than having a drink.\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThis work underscores the central role that social networking sites, or SNSs, play in helping students coordinate, advertise and facilitate their drinking experiences,\u201d says Lynsey Romo, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and co-lead author of a paper on the work. \u201cThe study also indicates that students who are at risk of having drinking problems can be identified through SNSs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started this project with a threshold question: what drives students to drink and post about alcohol on SNSs,\u201d says Charee Thompson, an assistant professor of communication studies at Ohio University and co-lead author of the study.<\/p>\n

To address that question, the researchers conducted an online survey of 364 undergraduate students at a Midwestern university. The students were all over 18, reported having consumed at least one alcoholic drink in the past month, and had an active Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account.<\/p>\n

Study participants were asked about their SNS use, alcohol consumption, alcohol problems and their alcohol-related use of SNSs, as well as a series of questions designed to measure their motivations for drinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strongest predictor of both drinking alcohol and posting about it on SNSs was espousing an alcohol identity \u2013 meaning that the individuals considered drinking a part of who they are,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cAnd those two behaviors were associated with alcohol problems \u2013 such as missing school or work, or getting into fights \u2013 because of drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, the researchers found that posting about alcohol use on social media was actually a stronger predictor of alcohol problems than alcohol use was. In other words, having a drink was less strongly correlated with alcohol problems than posting about alcohol use was \u2013 though clearly students with alcohol problems were drinking alcohol.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis might be because posting about alcohol use strengthens a student\u2019s ties to a drinking culture, which encourages more drinking, which could lead to problems,\u201d Thompson says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that these findings can aid policymakers in developing interventions to target the most at-risk populations \u2013 particularly students with strong alcohol identities,\u201d Romo says. \u201cAnd social media may help identify those students. For example, colleges could train student leaders and others in administrative positions to scan SNSs for text and photos that may indicate alcohol problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, the researchers note that future research on student alcohol use may want to further consider how drinking occurs in tandem with other behaviors that could cause students problems.<\/p>\n

The paper, \u201cCollege Students\u2019 Drinking and Posting About Alcohol: Forwarding a Model of Motivations, Behaviors, and Consequences,\u201d is published in the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives<\/i>.\n <\/p>\n

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Explore further:<\/b>
\n Research finds similar neural reactions among drinkers, abstainers\n <\/p>\n

\n More information:<\/b>
\n Charee M. Thompson et al, College Students\u2019 Drinking and Posting About Alcohol: Forwarding a Model of Motivations, Behaviors, and Consequences, Journal of Health Communication<\/i> (2016). DOI: 10.1080\/10810730.2016.1153763<\/p>\n