Stay Home, Drink at Home? A Daily Diary Study on College Students' Alcohol and Social Media Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The party's not over: Living situation, perceived party norms, and drinking games behavior among college students during the pandemic (COVID-19)

Objective: Playing drinking games (DGs) is a common, socially-interactive risky drinking activity. During the pandemic, many students either returned home to live with their parents or remained on campus. Because DGs often require social interaction, playing DGs in-person can increase students' risk for COVID-19 exposure. Thus, we examined whether living situation and perceptions of one's college/university as a party school increased risk for playing DGs in-person during a pandemic. Method: Students who reported recent alcohol use from 12 colleges/universities (n = 874; Mage = 19.38/SDage =  1.40; 75.6% White) completed self-report measures of alcohol use, DGs participation, demographics, and residential status in Fall 2020 to Spring 2021. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results: Overall, 62.8% of students played DGs in-person during the pandemic. Those who lived with roommates were at increased risk compared to those who lived with parents. Conclusions: Given health risks of playing DGs in-person, targeted efforts may be warranted among at-risk students.

Business as usual? Drinking games participation before and during an academic pandemic (COVID-19) year among university students

Objective: A drinking game (DG) is a risky social drinking activity that is prevalent among university students and promotes rapid alcohol consumption. We examined university students' DG behaviors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Students (N = 368; Mage=21.12; women = 72.6%; Hispanic = 44.7%) from seven universities completed an online survey in 2021 (spring/summer). Results: 57% played DGs in-person before the pandemic and continued to play during the pandemic. These students were less worried about their health/symptoms if they were to contract COVID-19, had lower confidence in wearing a mask properly/socially distancing while under the influence of alcohol, consumed more alcohol during the pandemic, and endorsed higher enhancement drinking motives than students who played DGs before but stopped playing during the pandemic (30%). Conclusions: College health practitioners could pay close attention to students who endorse high enhancement motives as they are susceptible to risky DG play.

The Relationship Between Alcohol-Related Content on Social Media and Alcohol Outcomes in Young Adults: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Alcohol-related content (ARC) is pervasive across social media. Existing research suggests that posting of and exposure to such content may affect young adults' drinking and alcohol-related problems. However, a scoping review has yet to examine the literature within this field of research.

OBJECTIVES

This scoping review delineates and describes the existing peer-reviewed quantitative research examining the associations between ARC posting and exposure and drinking and alcohol-related problems among young adults ages 18 to 30. Specifically, the authors sought to investigate (1) methodological trends in how exposure to and posting of ARC is assessed; (2) potential moderators of the association between exposure to and posting of ARC and drinking outcomes; (3) how exposure to and posting of ARC is associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems; and (4) potential gaps in the literature.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

This review includes original, empirical, quantitative studies, published in English from 2006 to 2023, that measured alcohol consumption and/or alcohol-related problems and the use of ARC on social media in 18- to 30-year-olds.

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

The authors systematically searched the PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycInfo, and Scopus databases on May 30, 2023, and reran the searches on November 1, 2023.

CHARTING METHODS

The authors designed a form to extract data and statistics related to alcohol drinking and ARC measures. Pairs of authors extracted the data for each study independently, and then a third author reviewed their work to resolve differences.

RESULTS

In total, 3,112 papers were selected via preliminary search terms. After removing duplicates and other articles deemed ineligible based on screening articles at the title and abstract level as well as assessing full-text articles for eligibility (n = 3,079), the final review included 33 studies. Overall, the results of the scoping review revealed a lack of consistent definitions and standardized assessments related to ARC. Despite these factors, the authors uncovered robust positive relationships between posting ARCand drinking and alcohol-related problems. The literature also mostly found positive, significant linkages between exposure to ARC and drinking and alcohol-related problems.

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review highlights the need for consistentoperationalization and empirically validated measures related to ARC. In addition, the authors propose a theoretical model that may serve as a road map for future interventions targeting young adults.

Should I stay (home) or should I go (party)? Examination of drinking as a mediator of the relationship between alcohol-related social media content and adherence to COVID-19 recommendations among college students

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted young people's drinking. Yet, despite social gatherings posing a known risk for increased contraction, some college students still congregated to drink. Furthermore, some students posted about these drinking events to their public and/or private social media feeds. It is crucial to understand the relationships between posting alcohol-related content (ARC), drinking and adherence to COVID-19 recommendations because they may have contributed to the spread of the virus.

METHODS

The current interval contingent, 14-day diary study assessed students' (N = 129) public and private ARC; their drinking; percentage of time wearing a mask and social distancing; and number of people they socialised with during drinking events (total crowd size) each day.

RESULTS

Multilevel structural equation modelling was employed to examine relationships between ARC posting, drinking and behavioural outcomes. On days in which students posted both public and private ARC, they tended to drink more and in turn, reported attending gatherings with larger crowds. Curiously, on days in which students drank more, they indicated more mask wearing and social distancing, and on days in which students posted more private ARC, they also reported larger crowds. Finally, an indirect effect of drinking on the links between public and private ARC and mask wearing, social distancing and total crowd sizes emerged.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Findings revealed students continued to post and drink socially despite the risks, which may have encouraged others within their networks to engage in similar risky behaviours. Future public health crises should balance young people's need for social connection with risk mitigation efforts.

The Effects of Alcohol-Related Social Media Content on Adolescents' Momentary Perceived Norms, Attitudes, and Drinking Intentions

Research has shown that exposure to alcohol posts on social media can shape adolescents' alcohol-related normative perceptions and attitudes, which in turn play a role in their drinking intentions. However, these studies focused on content in general, neglecting the variety of alcohol posts on social media. Furthermore, they were mostly cross-sectional and studied behaviors at one-time point, thus not considering within-person/daily (co-)fluctuations in exposure to alcohol posts and drinking cognitions. Therefore, this daily diary study among 275 Belgian adolescents (Mage = 15.83, SD = .88, 56.2% girls, 43% boys, 1 X) adds to the literature by examining how two types of alcohol posts (i.e. alcohol-focused vs. friend-focused) differently predict adolescents' normative perceptions (i.e. descriptive and injunctive), alcohol-related attitudes and intentions to drink, both on the between- and daily within-levels. The results showed that alcohol-focused posts but not friend-focused posts predicted adolescents' drinking cognitions (i.e. injunctive norms, descriptive norms, and attitudes) on the daily within-level. Descriptive norms and attitudes also predicted the intention to drink, on the between and daily within-level for attitudes but only on the daily within-level for norms. Overall, the results highlight that specific types of alcohol posts differently shape adolescents' daily drinking cognitions, thereby informing future interventions.

What pandemic? A multisite study of drinking motives and drinking games participation among college students during a pandemic (COVID-19) academic year

A drinking game (DG) is a widely practiced social activity that tends to encourage rapid alcohol consumption. While social restrictions during the pandemic (COVID-19) academic year were implemented as a health measure across many colleges/universities, the extent to which college student drinkers continued to play DGs in-person is not well understood. Because theory and research suggest that drinking motives are proximal correlates of drinking behaviors, we examined which drinking motives increased the likelihood of playing DGs in-person, and playing DGs in-person in a group of 10 + people during the 2020-21 pandemic academic year. College students (past-year drinkers) from 12 universities completed an online survey (N = 900; M_age = 19.42, Range = 18-25; SD_age = 1.45, White = 73.1%, 69.2% female). Of the students surveyed, 590 students played DGs, with 460 students only playing DGs in-person. Of the students who played DGs in-person, 274 students reported that the maximum number of people they played DGs with in-person exceeded the CDC's recommended guidelines (10 + people). Accounting for demographics, general alcohol use, and perceived COVID-19 threat, social drinking motives were positively associated with an increased likelihood of playing DGs in-person; the inverse was found for coping motives. Drinking motives were not associated with the likelihood of playing DGs with 10 + people but greater alcohol use and lower perceived threat of COVID-19 were. Given that the pandemic did not deter many student drinkers from playing DGs in-person, further investment in targeted intervention and public health initiatives aimed at substance-free alternatives promoting engagement and enhancement of social activities may be needed.

Physical Activity and Body Image Perceived by University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Our objective was to assess the perception of body image and physical activity in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 74,270 papers found on 13 search engines between 12 August 2020, and 2 November 2021, we identified six studies (n = 1392 and 1097 were women). We found several results on the perception of both variables during the pandemic. First, physical activity tended to decrease or have negative changes, either because they dedicated less time to it, decreased the type of intensity or because they dedicated more time to sedentary activities. In addition, women were more physically active than men, since men perceived a decrease in their levels of physical activity. Secondly, there were also slight changes in the perception of body image; several students perceived that they gained weight and others had an increase in their BMI. It is even noted that those who were physically active or who were older in the population studied had a better perception of their actual physical condition. Similarly, we found that a concern for body image and even negative changes in the perception of appearance during confinement were reported. In conclusion, we found changes in the perception of physical activity and body image in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.