@article{ref1,
title=""I will take a shot for every 'like' I get on this status": posting alcohol-related facebook content is linked to drinking outcomes",
journal="Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs",
year="2014",
author="Westgate, Erin C. and Neighbors, Clayton and Heppner, Hannes and Jahn, Susanna and Lindgren, Kristen P.",
volume="75",
number="3",
pages="390-398",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether self-reports of alcohol-related postings on Facebook by oneself or one's Facebook friends were related to common motives for drinking and were uniquely predictive of self-reported alcohol outcomes (alcohol consumption, problems, and cravings). <br><br>METHOD: Pacific Northwest undergraduates completed a survey of alcohol outcomes, drinking motives, and alcoholrelated Facebook postings. Participants completed the survey online as part of a larger study on alcohol use and cognitive associations. Participants were randomly selected through the university registrar's office and consisted of 1,106 undergraduates (449 men, 654 women, 2 transgender, 1 declined to answer) between the ages of 18 and 25 years (M = 20.40, SD = 1.60) at a large university in the Pacific Northwest. Seven participants were excluded from analyses because of missing or suspect data. <br><br>RESULTS: Alcohol-related postings on Facebook were significantly correlated with social, enhancement, conformity, and coping motives for drinking (all ps <.001). After drinking motives were controlled for, self-alcohol-related postings independently and positively predicted the number of drinks per week, alcohol-related problems, risk of alcohol use disorders, and alcohol cravings (all ps <.001). In contrast, friends' alcohol-related postings only predicted the risk of alcohol use disorders (p <.05) and marginally predicted alcohol-related problems (p =.07). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Posting alcohol-related content on social media platforms such as Facebook is associated with common motivations for drinking and is, in itself, a strong predictive indicator of drinking outcomes independent of drinking motives. Moreover, self-related posting activity appears to be more predictive than Facebook friends' activity. These findings suggest that social media platforms may be a useful target for future preventative and intervention efforts. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 390-398, 2014).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1937-1888",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}