Examination of social network members' influence on daily drinking: A pilot study

Research on young adult alcohol use often overlooks the influence of specific social network members on daily alcohol use. This pilot study combined egocentric social network methods with a daily diary design to examine how network members influence drinking at the day level.

Participants (N = 21) identified six social network members they frequently drank with and saw in person and then reported on these individuals in a 21-day study. Daily reports captured self-reported alcohol use and social network members presence and alcohol use from the previous day.

Across 417 morning reports, participants drank on 77 days (18.5%), consuming an average of 2.36 drinks (SD = 1.70) on those days. Linear mixed-effects models showed that being with a given network member who was drinking was associated with consuming 1.75 more drinks than the participant's average. Network members who contributed to higher alcohol use were more likely to be people the participant intended to drink with in the future and who had frequently consumed alcohol in the past month, regardless of whether it was with the participant.

The findings from this pilot study provide preliminary evidence that the drinking of and anticipating future drinking with certain network members contributes to greater alcohol use and suggests that interventions could use personalized feedback to help individuals recognize the network members who facilitate heavier drinking.