Citation

Bowdring MA, Sayette MA. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/acer.14682

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite the social nature of most drinking experiences, prior work has largely lacked incorporation of social context into the study of alcohol's emotional effects. The present study provides an initial test of the effect of alcohol on mood among platonic friends drinking together in a nonstressed setting. It was hypothesized that subjects would report more positive post-drink mood after consuming alcohol than after consuming a non-alcoholic control beverage.

METHODS: Dyads of platonic male friends (n = 36; 55.55% White, 38.88% Asian, 5.55% Black) attended two lab-based experimental sessions, wherein their drink conditions (alcohol vs. no-alcohol control) were randomized by dyad and counter-balanced across sessions. They reported their mood before and after consuming their beverages together, using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and an eight-item mood measure.

RESULTS: As hypothesized, alcohol enhanced positive mood (β = 0.26, p <.01). Though in the expected direction, the effect of alcohol on negative mood was not significant (β = -0.12, p =.17). Post-hoc analyses revealed alcohol to yield greater increases in both stimulation (β =.26, p =.00) and sedation (β =.40, p =.00) as compared to the control condition.

CONCLUSION: This study highlights the positive mood-enhancing and broader subjective effects of alcohol when drinking with a platonic friend and encourages further consideration of friendship contexts in the examination of alcohol's effects when developing models of alcohol use disorder etiology.

Language: en

Keywords

Alcohol; drinking; mood; friends; social