Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2012
DOI
10.1037/a0028909
Publication Title
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
Volume
26
Issue
4
Pages
747-758
Abstract
The process by which peers or the social network influence individual alcohol use, particularly among adults, remains a necessary area of research. The purpose of the present study was to examine the longitudinal influence of "drinking buddies" on alcohol outcomes (i.e., alcohol use, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems) as mediated by alcohol expectancies of social facilitation. Participants were 1347 (men = 660, women = 687) newly married individuals recruited from the community. They were assessed at the time of marriage and through the fourth wedding anniversary. Longitudinal mediation across time was evaluated using latent growth modeling. Overall, the prospective association between the number of drinking buddies in the social network and all three alcohol outcomes was mediated by alcohol expectancies. In testing group invariance across gender, findings suggest that social-facilitation expectancies may be more relevant to men than women in predicting typical alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Given that the social network may impact alcohol use at least in part through social expectancies, tailoring alcohol interventions to modify these specific beliefs may be particularly beneficial. In addition, strategies that target drinkers' social networks or their drinking buddies specifically may be useful.
Original Publication Citation
Lau-Barraco, C., Braitman, A. L., Leonard, K. E., & Padilla, M. (2012). Drinking buddies and their prospective influence on alcohol outcomes: Alcohol expectancies as a mediator. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 26(4), 747-758. doi:10.1037/a0028909
ORCID
0000-0002-2072-5477 (Lau-Barraco), 0000-0003-2259-1094 (Braitman)
Repository Citation
Lau-Barraco, Cathy; Braitman, Abbly L.; Leonard, Kenneth E.; and Padilla, Miguel, "Drinking Buddies and Their Prospective Influence on Alcohol Outcomes: Alcohol Expectancies as a Mediator" (2012). Psychology Faculty Publications. 52.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/psychology_fac_pubs/52
Comments
NOTE: This is the author's post-print version of a work that was published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
Lau-Barraco, C., Braitman, A. L., Leonard, K. E., & Padilla, M. (2012). Drinking buddies and their prospective influence on alcohol outcomes: Alcohol expectancies as a mediator. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 26(4), 747-758. doi:10.1037/a0028909
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028909