| dc.description.abstract | High rates of alcohol use and misuse are consistently documented among emerging adults
(i.e., individuals aged 18-25 years). Numerous factors that may contribute to such high
levels of alcohol use have been documented (e.g., genetics, personality, sociocultural
norms). Among these factors, social network variables, such as the alcohol use and
drinking motives of social contacts, have been highlighted as significant risk factors.
These social network variables are thought to transmit influence through social influence
and social selection principles. In the current dissertation, I aimed to better understand the
impact of social network members on the alcohol use and drinking motives of emerging
adults. In Study 1, I examined the influence of 882 different social network members’
binge drinking (i.e., romantic partners, parents, peers, and siblings) on 321 emerging
adults’ binge drinking using a cross-sectional design and social network member
recruitment. Romantic partner binge drinking was found to be a significant predictor of
emerging adult binge drinking, while peer, parent, and sibling binge drinking were not.
To study social network influence on drinking motives, I then created a brief alcohol
motives measure (the BAMM) in Study 2, along with a brief cannabis motives measure
(the BCAMM). Using expert opinion and a two-month longitudinal design with 176
emerging adults, I found both the BAMM and BCAMM to have satisfactory test-retest
reliability, face validity, content validity, convergent validity, concurrent validity, and
predictive validity. I then utilized the BAMM in Study 3 to investigate the influence of
perceived social network member drinking motives on 177 emerging adults’ own motives
and binge drinking. Findings from this four-month longitudinal design indicated that
perceived social network member drinking motives were a strong predictor of almost all
emerging adults’ drinking motives, and in some cases, were an indirect predictor of
emerging adults’ binge drinking through influences on own motives. As Study 3 was one
of the first studies to study perceptions of social network members’ drinking motives, I
then sought to investigate the accuracy of such perceptions. Using a subsample of Study
3, Study 4 recruited 60 participants’ social network members and used a Truth and Bias
approach to examine accuracy in, and bias of, drinking motive perceptions. I found that
most drinking motive perceptions were significantly or solely influenced by bias; all
motives, with the exception of coping-with-anxiety, exhibited significant directional or
assumed similarity bias. Despite this, the results also indicated that drinking motives
perceptions for social, coping-with-anxiety, and coping-with-depression were influenced
by accuracy. Taken together, my studies suggest that the social context of emerging adult
drinking and drinking motives matter. Social network members appear to impact both
how much and how often emerging adults drink, and why emerging adults choose to
drink in the first place. Social network alcohol use and perceptions of social network
drinking motives may represent important targets for intervention to reduce current and
future risk of heavy and problematic drinking among emerging adults. | en_US |
