Han Jiaxu, Fairbairn Catharine E, Venerable Walter James, Brown-Schmidt Sarah, Ariss Talia
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2025 Jan;49(1):153-164. doi: 10.1111/acer.15490. Epub 2024 Dec 31.
Researchers have long been interested in identifying objective markers for problem drinking susceptibility informed by the environments in which individuals drink. However, little is known of objective cognitive-behavioral indices relevant to the social contexts in which alcohol is typically consumed. Combining group-based alcohol administration, eye-tracking technology, and longitudinal follow-up over a 2-year span, the current study examined the role of social attention in predicting patterns of problem drinking over time.
Young heavy drinkers (N = 246) were randomly assigned to consume either an alcoholic (target BAC 0.08%) or a control beverage in dyads comprising friends or strangers. Dyads completed a virtual video call in which half of the screen comprised a view of themselves ("self-view") and half a view of their interaction partner ("other-view"). Participants' gaze behaviors, operationalized as the proportion of time spent looking at "self-view" and "other-view," were tracked throughout the call. Problem drinking was assessed at the time of the laboratory visit and then every year subsequent for 2 years.
Significant interactions emerged between beverage condition and social attention in predicting binge drinking days. In cross-sectional analyses, among participants assigned to the control (but not alcohol) group, heightened self-focused attention was linked with increased binge days at baseline, B = 0.013, Exp(B) = 1.013, 95% CI = [0.004, 0.022], p = 0.005. In contrast, longitudinal models indicated that heightened self-focused attention among control participants while interacting with friends was linked with a more pronounced decline in binge drinking over time.
The relationship between social attention and problem drinking is complex and evolves over time. While dispositional self-consciousness may act as a risk factor at the cross-sectional level, it appears to serve a potentially protective function as participants mature into young adulthood. More broadly, results highlight potential utility for objective markers of self-consciousness in the understanding of problem drinking etiology.
长期以来，研究人员一直致力于通过个体饮酒的环境来确定问题饮酒易感性的客观指标。然而，对于与饮酒通常发生的社会环境相关的客观认知行为指标却知之甚少。本研究结合基于群体的酒精给药、眼动追踪技术以及为期两年的纵向随访，考察了社会注意力在预测问题饮酒模式随时间变化方面的作用。
年轻的重度饮酒者（N = 246）被随机分配到由朋友或陌生人组成的二元组中，分别饮用酒精饮料（目标血液酒精浓度0.08%）或对照饮料。二元组完成一个虚拟视频通话，屏幕的一半显示他们自己的画面（“自我视角”），另一半显示他们互动伙伴的画面（“他人视角”）。在整个通话过程中，追踪参与者的注视行为，以他们看向“自我视角”和“他人视角”的时间比例来衡量。在实验室访问时评估问题饮酒情况，随后两年每年评估一次。
在预测暴饮天数方面，饮料条件和社会注意力之间出现了显著的交互作用。在横断面分析中，在被分配到对照组（而非酒精组）的参与者中，自我关注程度的提高与基线时暴饮天数的增加有关，B = 0.013，Exp(B) = 1.013，95% CI = [0.004, 0.022]，p = 0.005。相比之下，纵向模型表明，对照组参与者在与朋友互动时自我关注程度的提高与随着时间推移暴饮饮酒的更明显下降有关。
社会注意力与问题饮酒之间的关系是复杂的，且会随时间演变。虽然特质性自我意识在横断面水平上可能是一个风险因素，但随着参与者步入青年期，它似乎发挥着潜在的保护作用。更广泛地说，研究结果凸显了自我意识客观指标在理解问题饮酒病因方面的潜在效用。
