Social networks and their impact during emerging adulthood: Examining who matters, why emerging adults drink, and how researchers study these topics

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.