Testing Young Adults' Reactions to Facebook Cues and Their Associations with Alcohol Use

Background: Alcohol cues on social media may influence young adults' drinking patterns, these cues may be pro-social or pro-alcohol in nature. The influence of individual Facebook cues on young adults' drinking intentions and behaviors remains unknown. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess how Facebook cues influence intention to drink, and how intention was associated with Theory of Reasoned Action constructs including alcohol-related attitudes and norms, and future behavior. Methods: Incoming university students completed a pre-college and a 2-year follow-up phone interview. A vignette presented individual Facebook cues representing "pro-social" or "pro-alcohol" sentiments. Participants indicated intention to drink alcohol and their rationale for this intention after each cue. Additional measures included TRA constructs of alcohol-related attitudes and norms, and problem alcohol use. Analyses included a qualitative approach to examine rationales for intention to drink in response to Facebook cues, and linear mixed effects models. Results: Of 338 participants, 56.1% were female, 74.8% were Caucasian. Alcohol-related attitudes and norms were positively associated with intention to drink in response to pro-social and pro-alcohol Facebook cues. Participants' intention to drink in response to pro-alcohol cues was positively associated with problem alcohol use two years later. Conclusions/importance: Findings illuminate the influence of social media on alcohol-related behaviors and highlight potential future screening approaches.