Experimental Test of Facebook Social Drinking Norms on Adolescent Alcohol Use

NCT03159286 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 50829
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 306
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The proposed research will be the first study to focus on experimentally manipulating both injunctive and descriptive norms on social networking sites in order to elucidate the relationship between alcohol and abstainer displays on social networking sites and subsequent alcohol cognitions, use, and related negative consequences. Based on literature focusing on developmentally appropriate health models for adolescents, the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) assumes that health-risk behaviors occur either when individuals have developed intentions to engage in a risk behavior (and these intentions vary as a function of attitudes and perceived injunctive norms) or through willingness to engage in risks (which varies as a function of perceived vulnerability to negative consequences, perceived descriptive norms , and prototypes). To fully understand the relationships between alcohol abstaining displays on social networking sites, we will examine 1) the role of descriptive and injunctive abstainer and user norms, when experimentally manipulated with SNS profiles, on willingness and intentions, subsequent alcohol use and related negative consequences among adolescents (age 1 5-20) 2) whether intentions and willingness mediate the relation between our experimental manipulation and subsequent alcohol use and negative consequences and whether 3) individual differences in social influence moderate the effect of the experimental manipulation on intentions, willingness, alcohol use, and negative consequences. We will test these aims by recruiting a community sample of adolescents (N = 300), living in the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Participants will complete a web-based baseline assessment and participate in an in-person experimental manipulation in which they are either assigned to see same-sex social networking site profiles of alcohol abstainers, abstainers +users, or a control condition where neither user or abstainer information will be provided. Immediately after the manipulation, participants will answer a series of questions about the profiles they just viewed and their alcohol-related cognitions. Participants will also complete a one-month in person follow up assessment to test for impacts on intentions, willingness, alcohol use, and related negative consequences. Additionally, individual differences in social influence will be examined as possible moderators o f the relationship between SNS-portrayed norms and our primary outcomes. This study is both significant and innovative in that it uses a theoretical perspective to experimentally test the impact of alcohol content, in particular abstainer norms, on Facebook on adolescent alcohol use and related cognitions. The results have the potential to inform preventative interventions while addressing NIH priorities.

Conditions

Feedback, Psychological; Underage Alcohol Use; Risk-Taking

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Willingness and Intentions to Use Alcohol

  Assesses willingness to use alcohol and intentions to use alcohol at Baseline, Post-Manipulation, and 1-Month Follow-Up assessments.

  Baseline, Post-Manipulation and 1-Month Follow-Up time points

• Change in Self-Reported Alcohol Use

  Assesses self-reported alcohol use (using the Daily Drinking Questionnaire and Quantity Frequency measures) at Baseline and 1-Month Follow-Up assessments.

  Baseline and 1-Month Follow-Up time points

• Change in Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences

  Assesses alcohol-related negative consequences (using the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire) at Baseline and 1-Month Follow Up.

  Baseline and 1-Month Follow-Up time points

Study Arms (3)

Abstainer

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants view social networking site profiles with alcohol content that references abstaining from alcohol use.

Behavioral: Abstainer

Abstainer + User

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants view social networking site profiles with alcohol content that references both abstaining from alcohol use and using alcohol.

Behavioral: Abstainer + User

Control

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants view social networking site profiles with no alcohol content.

Behavioral: Control

Interventions

Abstainer BEHAVIORAL

Participants view social networking site profiles with alcohol content referencing abstaining from alcohol use.

Abstainer

Abstainer + User BEHAVIORAL

Participants view social networking site profiles with alcohol content referencing abstaining from alcohol use and using alcohol.

Abstainer + User

Control BEHAVIORAL

Participants view social networking site profiles with no alcohol content.

Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years - 20 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Must be between 15 and 20 years old
• Must reside within Seattle area
• Must use alcohol at least once in the last 6 months
• Must have valid email address
• Must have active profile on social networking site (Facebook, Instagram and/or Snapchat)
• Regular access to the web or personal mobile phone
• Willing to come to office for the experimental manipulation and post-manipulation assessment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Washington: lead
• University of North Texas Health Science Center: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors

Seattle, Washington, 98105, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Underage Drinking; Risk-Taking

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Adolescent Behavior; Behavior; Alcohol Drinking; Drinking Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Participants will not know which intervention they are in during the course of the study. They will be debriefed at the end of the study and informed which condition they were a part of.
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Affiliate Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 16, 2017
• First Posted: May 18, 2017
• Study Start: March 22, 2017
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2017
• Study Completion: April 30, 2018
• Last Updated: November 21, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)