Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34762061›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021

Causal Effects of Alcohol-Related Facebook Posts on Drinking Behavior: Longitudinal Experimental Study.

Hanneke Hendriks, Wouter de Nooy, Winifred A Gebhardt, Bas van den Putte

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Use of Machine Learning to Predict Offline Adolescent e-Cigarette Use: a Proof-of-Concept.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026
    Article
  2. Psychosocial Interventions for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Review of Efficacy, Mechanisms, and Clinical Implications.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Hanneke HendriksBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-4184-0252
Wouter de NooyAmsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-5644-5901
Winifred A GebhardtDepartment of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-8067-5598
Bas van den PutteAmsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-3635-6880
University of Amsterdam · NLLeiden University · NLRadboud University Nijmegen · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdolescents and young adults frequently post alcohol-related content (ie, alcoholposts) on social media. This is problematic because both social norms theory and social learning theory suggest that viewing alcoholposts of peers could increase drinking behavior. It is therefore paramount to understand the effects of exposure to alcoholposts on viewers.

objectiveThis study aimed to investigate the causal effects of exposure to alcoholposts on alcohol consumption by using a rigorous design.

methodsWe conducted a 6-week longitudinal study during which alcoholposts were measured by a newly developed app that copied Facebook posts shared by participants (n=281) to a new social media environment. In addition, daily questionnaires assessed alcohol use. Effects of natural alcoholposts (ie, posted by the participants) were assessed in phase 1, and effects of experimental posts (ie, posted by fake participants) were explored in phase 2.

resultsResults showed that natural alcoholposts increased the occurrence and quantity of drinking the following day. That is, exposure to a single additional alcoholpost increased the log odds of drinking the next day by 0.27 (b=.27, credible interval [CI] .18 to .35). Furthermore, the number of natural alcoholposts had a positive (predictive) effect on the number of glasses drunk the next day (b=.21, CI .14 to .29). In phase 2 when experimental posts were also present, these effects decreased. Experimental posts themselves had hardly any effects.

conclusionsThis study illustrates clear and direct effects of exposure to alcoholposts on next-day alcohol consumption and suggests that alcoholposts represent an important societal problem that interventions need to address.

Indexed as

Social MediaAdolescentAlcohol DrinkingHealth BehaviorHumansLongitudinal StudiesPeer GroupYoung Adultalcohol consumptionalcoholpostsalcohol-related postssocial mediasocial networking site (SNS)

Identifiers

PMID34762061
PMCPMC8663476
OpenAlexW3203542705

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.