Russell Alex M, Ou Tzung-Shiang, Bergman Brandon G, Massey Philip M, Barry Adam E, Lin Hsien-Chang
Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
Addict Behav Rep. 2022 May 18;15:100434. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100434. eCollection 2022 Jun.
Social media use among American adults is ubiquitous. Alcohol-related social media posts often glamorize heavy drinking, with increased exposure to such content associated with greater alcohol use. Comparatively less is known, however, about how social media promotes alcohol-related health behavior change. Greater scientific knowledge in this area may enhance our understanding of the relationship between social media and alcohol behaviors, helping to inform clinical and public health recommendations. We examined the relationship between exposure to peer alcohol-related social media posts (pro-drinking, negative consequences, and pro-treatment/recovery) and treatment-seeking intentions among heavy drinkers, as well as potential mediators of the relationship (e.g., attitudes toward treatment effectiveness).
Hazardous drinking adults (aged 18-55 years) who use social media ( = 499) completed an online questionnaire. Linear regression analysis examined the association between alcohol-related social media exposures and treatment-seeking intentions. Mediation was tested using structural equation modelling.
Exposure to peer pro-drinking posts was negatively associated with intentions to seek treatment ( = -0.67, < 0.01), whereas exposures to peer alcohol-related negative consequences posts and peer posts about positive experiences with treatment/recovery were positively associated with treatment-seeking intentions ( = 0.69, < 0.01; = 1.23, < 0.001, respectively). Mediation analysis concluded the effect of exposures on intentions was explained partially by attitudes toward treatment effectiveness (25.5%) and alcohol treatment stigma (6.1%). Findings suggest peers' alcohol-related social media posts may both promote and hinder health behavior change depending on the nature of the post. Future research that develops and tests social media-delivered interventions to promote treatment and recovery seeking is warranted.
美国成年人使用社交媒体的现象十分普遍。与酒精相关的社交媒体帖子常常美化酗酒行为，接触此类内容的增加与更多的酒精使用相关。然而，关于社交媒体如何促进与酒精相关的健康行为改变，人们了解得相对较少。该领域更多的科学知识可能会增进我们对社交媒体与酒精行为之间关系的理解，有助于为临床和公共卫生建议提供依据。我们研究了接触同伴与酒精相关的社交媒体帖子（支持饮酒、负面后果以及支持治疗/康复）与重度饮酒者寻求治疗的意愿之间的关系，以及该关系的潜在中介因素（例如对治疗效果的态度）。
使用社交媒体的危险饮酒成年人（年龄在18 - 55岁之间，n = 499）完成了一份在线问卷。线性回归分析检验了与酒精相关的社交媒体接触与寻求治疗意愿之间的关联。使用结构方程模型对中介作用进行了测试。
接触同伴支持饮酒的帖子与寻求治疗的意愿呈负相关（β = -0.67，p < 0.01），而接触同伴与酒精相关的负面后果帖子以及同伴关于治疗/康复积极体验的帖子与寻求治疗的意愿呈正相关（分别为β = 0.69，p < 0.01；β = 1.23，p < 0.001）。中介分析得出，接触对意愿的影响部分由对治疗效果的态度（25.5%）和酒精治疗耻辱感（6.1%）所解释。研究结果表明，同伴与酒精相关的社交媒体帖子可能根据帖子的性质既促进也阻碍健康行为改变。有必要开展进一步的研究来开发和测试通过社交媒体提供的促进寻求治疗和康复的干预措施。
