Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39115933›Full record

ArticlePsychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors2025

Associations between posting about alcohol on social networking sites and alcohol-induced blackouts in a sample of young adults not in 4-year college.

Jennifer E Merrill, Lily Davidson, Benjamin C Riordan, Zoey Logan, Rose Marie Ward

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

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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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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

5 authors.

Jennifer E MerrillCenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University.ORCID 0000-0002-8310-140X
Lily DavidsonDepartment of Psychology, Graduate College, University of Cincinnati.
Benjamin C RiordanCentre for Alcohol Policy and Research, Latrobe University.
Zoey LoganCenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University.
Rose Marie WardDepartment of Psychology, Graduate College, University of Cincinnati.

Funding

A novel social media approach to #identification and #screening for hazardous drinking among diverse non-college young adultsR21AA029749 · NIAAA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI MERRILL, JENNIFER ELIZABETH, WARD, ROSE MARIE · 2022 to 2023
$428k
NIAAA NIH HHSNIAAA NIH HHS R21 AA029749
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveResearch among young adults (YA), in samples of majority White college students, indicates links between posting about alcohol on social media and self-reported drinking behavior. We sought to extend this work by examining unique associations between public versus private posting about alcohol and the high-risk outcome of alcohol-related blackouts among a sample of racially/ethnically diverse YA not in 4-year college.

methodA sample of 499 participants (ages 18-29; 52.5% female; 37.5% Black/African American, 26.9% White, 25.3% Hispanic/Latinx) completed an online survey about social media use and drinking behavior.

resultsAcross three platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter [now known as "X"]), public posting on Instagram was most common. Adjusting for covariates, a higher frequency of private posting about alcohol was associated with a higher frequency of past-month blackouts. Tests of simple effects of posting on blackouts within racial/ethnic subgroups indicated that private posting about alcohol was significantly associated with past-month blackouts only among those who most strongly identified as Black/African American or White but not among those who most strongly identified as Hispanic/Latinx. Further, public posting was significantly associated with past-month blackouts, though the association was specific to White participants.

conclusionsWhether posting about alcohol may be useful in identifying risky drinking behavior may depend on racial/ethnic identification as well as whether private or public posting is being considered. Results have implications for eventual online interventions, which can identify individuals potentially at risk for hazardous drinking based on their social media posting behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingSocial MediaSocial NetworkingStudentsAdolescentAdultAlcohol Drinking in CollegeBlack or African AmericanFemaleHumansMaleUniversitiesWhiteWhite PeopleYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID39115933
PMCPMC11806087

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.