What "Likes" Have Got to Do with It: Exposure to Peers' Alcohol-Related Posts and Perceptions of Injunctive Drinking Norms

Objective: Examine 1) whether observed social reinforcements (i.e., "likes") received by peers' alcohol-related social media posts are related to first-year college students' perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking behaviors; and 2) whether associations are moderated by s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of American college health 2018-05, Vol.66 (4), p.252-258
Main Authors: Boyle, Sarah C, Smith, Daniel J, Earle, Andrew M, LaBrie, Joseph W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Alcohol Drinking - psychology
Alcohol use
Behavior Standards
College Freshmen
College students
Correlation
Drinking
Drinking behavior
Emotions
Female
Friends - psychology
Friendship
Humans
Interest Inventories
Interpersonal Relations
Interviews
Male
Mass Media Effects
Mass Media Role
Mass Media Use
Online Surveys
Peer Acceptance
Peer Group
Peer Influence
Peers
Perceptions
Preferences
Regression (Statistics)
Reinforcement
Risk-Taking
Social Behavior
Social Media
Social networks
Social Perception
Social Reinforcement
Statistical Analysis
Students - psychology
Universities
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective: Examine 1) whether observed social reinforcements (i.e., "likes") received by peers' alcohol-related social media posts are related to first-year college students' perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking behaviors; and 2) whether associations are moderated by students' alcohol use status. Participants: First-year university students (N = 296) completed an online survey in September, 2014. Method: Participants reported their own alcohol use, friends' alcohol use, perceptions of the typical student's approval for risky drinking, and ranked 10 types of social media posts in terms of the relative numbers of "likes" received when posted by peers. Results: Observed social reinforcement (i.e., "likes") for peers' alcohol-related posts predicted perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking behaviors among non-drinking students, but not drinking students. Conclusions: For first-year college students who have not yet initiated drinking, observing peers' alcohol-related posts to receive abundant "likes" may increase perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking.
ISSN:0744-8481
1940-3208
DOI:10.1080/07448481.2018.1431895