Association Between Public Posting About Alcohol on Social Networking Sites and Alcohol Outcomes Among Non-College-Attending Young Adults

Abstract

There is potential to use public posts on social networking sites (SNS) to screen for problematic alcohol use. This study investigated how frequency of public posting about alcohol on SNS relates to alcohol outcomes among young adults (YA) not attending 4-year college. We also explored associations for racial/ethnic and gender subgroups. Participants were 501 non-college-attending YA, aged 18–29, living in the United States. Participants were recruited via Qualtrics Panels and completed measures of demographics, SNS use (past-3-month frequency of public posting about alcohol on Instagram, TikTok, “X”), and alcohol-related outcomes: heavy episodic drinking frequency (HED), high-intensity drinking episodes (HID), U.S. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test total (USAUDIT), and alcohol consequences. Regression models tested hypothesized associations between frequency of public posting and alcohol outcomes. Subsequent models assessed simple effects by race/ethnicity (Hispanic, Black, White) and gender (man, woman). Controlling for covariates, more frequent public alcohol-posting was associated with higher USAUDIT, HED frequency, and HID likelihood, not consequences. For Hispanic YA, posting was positively associated with all outcomes except consequences. For Black YA, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT and HID, not HED or consequences. For White YA, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT and HED, not HID or consequences. For women, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT total, HID, and consequences. For men, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT and HED. In conclusion, more frequent public alcohol-posting on SNS was positively associated with past-year alcohol use and problems, implying potential to screen for hazardous drinking via public SNS posts, among non-college-attending YA.

Full text

Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
Association Between Public Posting About Alcohol on Social Networking
Sites and Alcohol Outcomes Among Non-College-Attending Young Adults
Lily Davidson, Megan Strowger, Benjamin Riordan, Nioud Mulugeta Gebru, Rose Marie Ward, and Jennifer
E. Merrill
Online First Publication, March 20, 2025. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pha0000767
CITATION
Davidson, L., Strowger, M., Riordan, B., Gebru, N. M., Ward, R. M., & Merrill, J. E. (2025). Association
between public posting about alcohol on social networking sites and alcohol outcomes among non-college-
attending young adults. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. Advance online publication.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pha0000767

Association Between Public Posting About Alcohol on Social Networking
Sites and Alcohol Outcomes Among Non-College-Attending Young Adults
Lily Davidson
1, 2
, Megan Strowger
3
, Benjamin Riordan
4
, Nioud Mulugeta Gebru
3
,
Rose Marie Ward
1
, and Jennifer E. Merrill
3
1
The Graduate College, University of Cincinnati
2
The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney
3
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health
4
Centre for Alcohol Policy and Research, La Trobe University
There is potential to use public posts on social networking sites (SNS) to screen for problematic alcohol use.
This study investigated how frequency of public posting about alcohol on SNS relates to alcohol outcomes
among young adults (YA) not attending 4-year college. We also explored associations for racial/ethnic and
gender subgroups. Participants were 501 non-college-attending YA, aged 18–29, living in the United States.
Participants were recruited via Qualtrics Panels and completed measures of demographics, SNS use (past-3-
month frequency of public posting about alcohol on Instagram, TikTok, “X”), and alcohol-related outcomes:
heavy episodic drinking frequency (HED), high-intensity drinking episodes (HID), U.S. Alcohol Use
Disorders Identification Test total (USAUDIT), and alcohol consequences. Regression models tested
hypothesized associations between frequency of public posting and alcohol outcomes. Subsequent models
assessed simple effects by race/ethnicity (Hispanic, Black, White) and gender (man, woman). Controlling for
covariates, morefrequent public alcohol-posting was associated with higher USAUDIT, HED frequency, and
HID likelihood, not consequences. For Hispanic YA, posting was positively associated with all outcomes
except consequences. For Black YA, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT and HID, not HED or
consequences. For White YA, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT and HED, not HID or
consequences. For women, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT total, HID, and consequences.
For men, posting was positively associated with USAUDIT and HED. In conclusion, more frequent public
alcohol-posting on SNS was positively associated with past-year alcohol use and problems, implying
potential to screen for hazardous drinking via public SNS posts, among non-college-attending YA.
Public Health Significance
This study demonstrated that more frequent public posting about alcohol on social media is associated
with greater “real life”alcohol use/problems, among noncollege young adults (YA) in the United States.
This information could inform future social media-based screening and intervention efforts for at-risk
drinkers among noncollege YA, who make up 70% of the U.S. YA population, and are underserved
regarding alcohol screening/intervention efforts.
Keywords: alcohol consequences, social networking sites, noncollege young adults, racial/ethnic identity,
gender identity
In the United States, young adults (YA; 18–29 years) have the
highest prevalence of past-year alcohol consumption (73.1%),
compared to other age groups (Delker et al., 2016). Heavy episodic
drinking (HED; 5+drinks for males, 4+drinks for females;
Wechsler et al., 1995) is particularly common among U.S. YA;
30.5% reported a HED episode during the past 2 weeks (Patrick et
al., 2023). Rates of high-intensity drinking (HID; consuming two
times the heavy drinking level, i.e., 10+drinks for males, 8+drinks
Jin H. Yoon served as action editor.
Lily Davidson https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2811-0856
All authors contributed in a significant way to the article and have read and
approved the final article. All authors declare no conflicts of interest. This
study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health (Grant R21 AA 029749,
multiple principal investigators: Jennifer E. Merrill and Rose Marie Ward).
The funding source had no other involvement other than financial support.
The authors acknowledge the contributions by research assistants Zoey Logan
and Olivia Belitsos to the research project underlying the present study.
Open Access funding provided by The University of Sydney: This work is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
(CC BY 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). This license
permits copying and redistributing the work in any medium or format, as well
as adapting the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Lily Davidson played a lead role in data curation, visualization, writing–
original draft, and writing–review and editing, a supporting role in formal
analysis, methodology, and project administration, and an equal role in
conceptualization and investigation. Megan Strowger played a supporting
continued
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
© 2025 The Author(s)
ISSN: 1064-1297 https://doi.org/10.1037/pha0000767
1

for females; Gowin et al., 2021) are also concerning; prevalence of
past 2-week HID among YA is 9.5% (Patrick et al., 2023).
Research about alcohol use among YA has disproportionately
focused on college students, yet 70% of U.S. YA are not enrolled in
4-year college (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019). YA
who do not attend 4-yearcollege, including those who attend a 2-year
or community college (herein “noncollege YA”), experience more
serious alcohol-related consequences than their college-attending
peers (e.g., drink-driving related incidents/offenses, alcohol-related
suicide attempts; Cremeens-Matthews & Chaney, 2016;Patrick et
al., 2020;Simons-Morton et al., 2017). Given the relatively limited
research about alcohol use and related problems among noncollege
YA, there is a need to improve methods of screening for and
intervening with hazardous drinking among noncollege YA.
Social media is one potential avenue for reaching noncollege YA
for alcohol screening and intervention. Of U.S. YA, 84% report
having at least one social media account, making social networking
sites (SNS) a potentially useful avenue for reaching noncollege YA
for alcohol screening/intervention efforts (Pew Research Center,
2021). SNS-based interventions for alcohol may be particularly
useful among noncollege YA, who have less access to common
methods of in-person alcohol screening/intervention, like those that
happen at colleges. Among the more popular SNS used by YA are
Instagram, “X”(formerly Twitter), and TikTok, which are free
online platforms for sharing content (e.g., images and/or videos with
accompanying captions, and/or short text-based updates). Among
U.S. YA, Instagram is used by 78%, “X”by 42%, and TikTok by
62% (Pew Research Center, 2024).
Several studies have demonstrated a positive link between alcohol-
related posting on SNS and real-life alcohol outcomes (for systematic
review and meta-analysis, see Curtis et al., 2018). However, most
studies were conducted with college-attending YA. Alcohol-related
posting has been less well-studied among YA who do not attend
college, a group who may engage differently with SNS given their
unique roles and responsibilities (e.g., work, childcare; Merrill et al.,
2024;Moreno et al., 2023;Sheffield et al., 2005). Also less well-
studied is whether the association between alcohol-related posting
and alcohol use may differ based on personal characteristics, such as
racial/ethnic or gender identity. Between-group differences in the
alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link may be evident due to differing
beliefs or societal expectations around using alcohol and displaying
alcohol-related content on SNS. For example, YA who identify with
a marginalized racial/ethnic or gender identity (e.g., non-White or
women YA) may be less likely to post publicly on SNS about
alcohol, for fear of negative evaluation or persecution (Hoy-Ellis,
2023;Wade & Peralta, 2017). Exploring whether the positive
alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link is present for noncollege YA,
especially those of different racial/ethnic and gender identities, may
clarify whether it is viable to identify at-risk drinkers among diverse
samples of YA via public SNS content. A longer term goal of this
research could be to provide support to individuals identified as “at-
risk,”via social media outreach.
Few studies have explored whether the alcohol-posting to alcohol-
use link is moderated by race/ethnicity. Bergman et al. (2020)
observed a positive association between posting on Instagram and
self-reported at-risk drinking, among White, Asian, and Black but not
Hispanic participants, from a community-based sample (M
age
29.9
years). However, this study focused on general posts (number and
likelihood of any posts), not alcohol-related posts. In another study
with U.S. noncollege YA, Merrill et al. (2024) found the frequency of
public posting about alcohol was associated with past-month
alcohol-induced blackouts, though the association was specificto
White YA (not Black or Hispanic). This study was limited to a single
outcome (past-30-day blackout frequency). Together, these studies
suggest there may be differences in the alcohol-posting to alcohol-
use link, depending on a YA’s race/ethnicity. However, given the
limited literature and conflicting results regarding the alcohol-
posting to alcohol-use link by race/ethnicity, there is room to extend
upon extant literature.
Similarly, few studies have explored biological sex or gender
identity differences in the alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link. Davis
et al. (2021) found no sex differences in the association between
self-reported frequency of alcohol-posting (across four SNS) and
quantity consumed, among college students. However, scarcity of
literature and a focus on college-attending YA indicate the need for
further investigation of how gender may moderate the alcohol-posting
to alcohol-use link, especially with noncollege YA. Particularly, it is
important to explore the association between publicly available alcohol-
related posts and alcohol outcomes, by gender. This has implications for
potential social media-based alcohol screening and intervention efforts,
because public SNS posts can be more easily accessed and screened
by researchers/interventionists than private posts.
The Present Study
The first goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that more
frequent public posting about alcohol would be positively associated
with self-reported alcohol outcomes (use and problems, HED, HID)
and alcohol-related consequences, among noncollege YA. We also
tested whether these associations were significant for each of three
racial/ethnic subgroups (Black, White, Hispanic). Given the scarcity
of research exploring these associations by race/ethnicity (Bergman
et al., 2020;Merrill et al., 2024), we did not propose directional
hypotheses for how the association between public posting and
alcohol outcomes may differ by race/ethnicity. Finally, we explored
whether associations between public posting and alcohol outcomes
role in conceptualization and an equal role in writing–review and editing.
Benjamin Riordan played a supporting role in funding acquisition, project
administration, supervision, and visualization and an equal role in
conceptualization, investigation, methodology, and writing–review and
editing. Nioud Mulugeta Gebru played a supporting role in conceptualiza-
tion and an equal role in writing–review and editing. Rose Marie Ward
played a lead role in funding acquisition, a supporting role in formal
analysis, investigation, and visualization, and an equal role in conceptuali-
zation, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision, and
writing–review and editing. Jennifer E. Merrill played a lead role in formal
analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, and project administration, a
supporting role in data curation, investigation, visualization, and writing–
original draft, and an equal role in conceptualization, resources, supervisio n,
and writing–review and editing.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lily
Davidson, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance
Use, The University of Sydney, Jane Foss Russell Building G02, Maze Cres,
Darlington, NSW 2008, Australia. Email: lily.davidson@sydney.edu.au
2DAVIDSON ET AL.

were significant for both men and women. Based on prior research
(Davis et al., 2021), we predicted significant positive associations
between frequency of posting about alcohol and all alcohol
outcomes, for both men and women.
Materials and Method
Participants and Procedure
The sample was 501 YA. Eligible participants were as follows:
18–29 years old, not attending 4-year college, had not previously
completed 4-year college, residing within the United States, have a
public “X”or Instagram account, and have posted alcohol-related
content on either account in the past month. While questions about
TikTok were also included in assessments, TikTok account
ownership was not considered in eligibility criteria.
Participants were enrolled through Qualtrics Panels. Potentially
suitable individuals received an email alerting them to a survey.
Participating panel members were guided to an online consent form/
screening questionnaire. Eligible participants could proceed with the
remaining questions. Recruitment for Qualtrics Panels drew from
various sources, including website intercept strategies, member referrals,
email lists, and gaming and social media platforms. Compensation
took various forms (e.g., airline points, cash). The panel was
structured to oversample Black and Hispanic/Latinx participants.
Data validity was a collaborative effort between Qualtrics and the
researchers. Data cleaning involved eliminating duplicate responses,
incomplete data, and suspicious/fraudulent responses. The survey
included several fraud/scam detections (e.g., requiring participants
to respond with full sentences or confirm age). We implemented IP
address monitoring and utilized bot detection to ensure participants
were within the United States. Procedures were approved by the
Brown University Institutional Review Board (United States).
Measures
Demographics
Demographics included age, sex at birth (male, female, intersex),
gender identity (man, woman, nonbinary, prefer not to answer), and
highest educational attainment. Participants reported their identified
ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino/a/x; yes/no) and race (White, Black
or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian,
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Other). Participants were also
asked which race/ethnicity they most strongly identified with. The
categorical “strongest”race/ethnicity variable was recoded into
three dummy codes, creating distinctions between White and (1)
Black, (2) Hispanic, and (3) “Other”racial identities (combined
due to limited representation).
Alcohol Use and Related Problems
Past-year alcohol use and problems were assessed using the U.S.
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test total score (USAUDIT;
Babor et al., 2016). Internal consistency for the USAUDIT was good
in this study (Cronbach’sα=.86). An image of the U.S. standard
drinks guideline was presented before question blocks about alcohol
use. HED was assessed using a single item: “Over the past 30 days,
on how many days have you consumed four or more (presented to
females) or five or more (presented to males) standard drinks on one
drinking occasion?”High-intensity drinking (HID) was assessed
using a single-item question: “Over the past 30 days, on how many
days have you consumed eight or more (females) or ten or more
(males) standard drinks in a single sitting (e.g., one night)?”Given
the especially high-risk nature of HID, we sought to examine
whether or not participants reported this level of drinking, rather
than how often. Therefore, HID was recoded as a binary variable
reflecting the occurrence of HID in the past 30 days (yes =1;
no =0).
Consequences
Alcohol-related consequences were assessed using the Brief
Young Adults Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ;
Kahler et al., 2008), a 24-item measure of common alcohol
consequences (yes =1, no =0) in the past 30 days. Higher total
scores (range =0–24) indicate more consequences. The BYAACQ
demonstrated excellent internal consistency in this study (Cronbach’s
α=.93).
SNS Use
For each of the three focal social media accounts (public: “X,”
Instagram, TikTok), if participants indicated having this account
type during screening, they self-reported the frequency of their
alcohol-related posts in the preceding 3 months. Response options
ranged from 0 =never to 4 =daily. We then computed a sum of
“public posting frequency”across these three platforms (range =0–
12). Instructions informed that alcohol-related content might include
the following: “a posted statement about your own or someone
else’s drinking, a meme related to alcohol, or a photo or video where
you or someone else is drinking alcohol.”Participants also self-
reported their frequency of viewing alcohol-related content on SNS,
on a 5-point scale from 1 =never to 5 =daily, and reported an
estimated total number of posts they make on social media per week
(range =0–99).
Transparency and Openness
We report how we determined sample size, all manipulations, and
all measures, and we follow Journal Article Reporting Standards
(Appelbaum et al., 2018). Materials and analysis code are available
by emailing the corresponding author. Analyses were conducted in
SPSS 29 (IBM Corp., 2022). This study was not preregistered.
Analysis Plan
An a priori power analysis informed a larger study from which
these data were drawn. Following descriptive and correlation
analysis, analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and chi-square tests (for
the binary HID variable) were used to test differences by racial/
ethnic and gender identities, for alcohol use outcomes, alcohol-
related consequences, and public posting about alcohol. Next, four
multiple regression models were used to examine associations
between frequency of public alcohol-related posting (independent
variable) and four alcohol outcomes (dependent variables: alcohol
use/problems as per USAUDIT total, HED frequency, any HID, and
number of consequences on the BYAACQ; Step 1). For the binary
HID outcome, logistic regression was used.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PUBLIC POSTING AND ALCOHOL USE 3

Next, we examined the association between frequency of public
posting and the four alcohol outcomes (simple effects), by racial/
ethnic identity (Step 2). In this step, we added a set of two-way
interactions between each racial/ethnic subgroup and public posting.
Rather than comparing the strength of associations between racial/
ethnic groups, we aimed to test the simple effects of public posting
on each alcohol outcome, for the three largest racial/ethnic identity
groups in our sample (White, Black, Hispanic/Latinx). For each
outcome, the referent group was selected three times to allow each
racial/ethnic identity group to serve as the referent. For example, the
model wherein Black racial/ethnic identity served as the referent
group provided a test of the simple effect of posting on alcohol use
for Black participants; the model was rerun to obtain simple effects
for White and Hispanic participants. There were small percentages of
participants who identified as Asian, American Indian/Alaskan Native,
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and “Other”(see Table 1). Participants who
identified with these racial/ethnic identities were collapsed into an “Other”
category and included in all models. While we report descriptives on
key variables for these subgroups (Table 2), we made an a priori
decision not to discuss model results pertaining to participants
categorized as “other race,”due to collapsing subgroups to form this
category.
In Step 3, we examined the association between frequency of
public posting about alcohol and the four alcohol outcomes (simple
effects), by gender identity (woman/man), using a similar method to
that described in Step 2. For each outcome, we began with a model
in which “women”served as the referent group; this model provided
a test of the simple effect of posting on alcohol use for women. In a
follow-up model, the referent group was switched to “men”to obtain
the simple effect for men. All models controlled for the number of
SNS posts per week (i.e., general posting frequency) and frequency
of viewing alcohol-related content. In models where consequences
were the outcome, we also controlled “typical drinks,”calculated
using USAUDIT Item 2: “How many drinks containing alcohol
do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?”(7-point scale
from 0 =one drink to 6 =10 or more drinks).
Results
Sample Descriptives
Participants’mean age was 24.48 (SD =3.16) years, and
approximately half identified as “woman”(n=259, 51.70%). See
Table 1 for other characteristics and data on general SNS use.
Table 2 shows the descriptive characteristics on key alcohol outcomes
and public posting frequency by racial/ethnic and gender identity
subgroups. The average USAUDIT total score was 16.36 (SD =9.36)
out of 46, and 83.40% (n=418) had a score indicating hazardous
drinking (7+for women, 8+for men; Babor et al., 2016). ANOVAs
and chi-square revealed no significant differences between groups
based on strongest racial/ethnic identity, on focal alcohol outcomes
and frequency of public posting about alcohol (all ps>.05).
ANOVAs and chi-square revealed significantly higher scores for men
compared to women on the USAUDIT, F(1, 499) =8.06, p=.005;
HED frequency, F(1, 499) =5.21, p=.02; and public posting about
alcohol, F(1, 499) =4.76, p=.03, but not HID or consequences.
Associations Between Frequency of Alcohol-Related
Posting and HED Frequency
Models where past-month HED frequency was the outcome are
shown in Table 3. When only public posting and covariates were
included (Step 1), more frequent public posting was significantly
associated with more frequent HED. Tests of racial/ethnic group
effects (Step 2) revealed significant positive associations between
public posting and HED frequency for Hispanic and White, but not
Black, participants. Tests of simple effects by gender identity
(Step 3) indicated public posting was significantly and positively
associated with HED frequency for men, but not women.
Associations Between Frequency of Alcohol-Related
Posting and Any HID
Models where any past-month HID episodes (none vs. one or
more) were the outcome are shown in Table 4. When only public
posting and covariates were included (Step 1), more frequent public
posting was significantly associated with greater likelihood of HID.
Tests of racial/ethnic group effects (Step 2) revealed significant
positive associations between public posting and HID for Black
and Hispanic, but not White, participants. Tests of simple effects
by gender (Step 3) indicated public posting was significantly and
positively associated with HID for women, but not men.
Table 1
Sample Characteristics on Demographic and Public SNS Account
Use Variables
Variable n(%) or M(SD)
Female sex at birth (n,%) 261 (52.10)
Strongest racial/ethnic identity (n,%)
Black/African American 190 (37.90)
White 134 (26.70)
Hispanic/Latino 126 (25.10)
Asian 29 (5.80)
American Indian/Alaska Native 13 (2.60)
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2 (0.40)
Other 7 (1.40)
Highest education (n,%)
Less than high school 18 (3.60)
High school diploma 272 (54.30)
GED 22 (4.40)
Some college 117 (23.40)
Associate degree 69 (13.80)
Other 3 (0.60)
Public account ownership (n,%)
“X”(Twitter) 325 (64.90)
Instagram 404 (80.60)
TikTok 321 (64.10)
Posts per week (range =0–99; M,SD)7.16 (12.76)
Frequency of viewing alcohol content on SNS (n,%)
Never 42 (8.40)
1×/month 82 (16.40)
Monthly 102 (20.40)
Weekly 179 (35.70)
Daily 96 (19.20)
Note.N=501. SNS =social networking sites; GED =general
educational development test which is considered a high school
equivalency exam in the United States.
4DAVIDSON ET AL.

Associations Between Frequency of Alcohol-Related
Posting and USAUDIT
Models where USAUDIT total (past-year alcohol use/problems) was
the outcome are shown in Table 5. When only public posting and
covariates were included (Step 1), more frequent public posting was
significantly associated with higher USAUDIT. Tests of racial/ethnic
group effects (Step 2) revealed significant positive associations between
public posting and USAUDIT for participants in all three racial/
ethnic subgroups (White, Black, Hispanic). Tests of simple effects
by gender (Step 3) indicated public posting was significantly
and positively associated with USAUDIT total for both men and
women.
Associations Between Frequency of Alcohol-Related
Posting and Consequences
Models where past-month alcohol-related consequences (BYAACQ
total) were the outcome are shown in Table 6. When only public
posting and covariates were included (Step 1), more frequent public
posting was not significantly associated with consequences. Tests
of racial/ethnic group effects (Step 2) revealed no significant
associations between public posting and BYAACQ total for
participants in any of the three focal racial/ethnic subgroups.
Tests of simple effects by gender (Step 3) revealed a significant and
positive association between public posting and BYAACQ total
for women, but not men.
Table 2
Public Posting Frequency and Alcohol Outcomes by Racial/Ethnic and Gender Identity Subgroups
Racial/ethnic subgroup n
Public posting frequency HED frequency Any HID (yes) USAUDIT total (past year) BYAACQ total
M(SD)M(SD)n(%) M(SD)M(SD)
Black 190 2.51 (3.01) 4.98 (5.25) 130 (68.40) 16.19 (8.70) 8.96 (6.67)
Hispanic/Latinx 126 2.09 (2.49) 5.71 (5.37) 97 (77.00) 16.67 (8.99) 10.54 (6.61)
White 134 2.05 (2.75) 6.04 (6.25) 86 (64.20) 15.68 (9.81) 10.16 (7.19)
Other 51 2.84 (3.21) 7.18 (6.81) 31 (60.80) 18.02 (11.29) 9.47 (7.45)
American Indian/Alaska Native
a
13 2.31 (3.17) 11.08 (7.82) 12 (92.30) 24.69 (11.11) 13.62 (7.10)
Asian
a
29 3.55 (3.50) 4.69 (5.03) 14 (48.30) 15.97 (9.77) 8.00 (7.41)
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
a
2 3.00 (1.41) 2.00 (2.83) 1 (50.00) 7.00 (9.90) 2.50 (3.54)
Other
a
7 0.86 (0.90) 11.71 (6.97) 4 (57.10) 17.29 (14.01) 9.86 (6.28)
Gender identity subgroup
Woman 259 2.05 (2.45) 5.11 (5.36) 179 (69.11) 15.22 (9.14) 9.47 (6.86)
Man 242 2.60 (3.20)
b
6.28 (6.10)
b
165 (68.18) 17.58 (9.46)
b
10.01 (6.94)
Full sample 501 2.31 (2.85) 5.67 (5.75) 344 (68.70) 16.36 (9.36) 9.73 (6.89)
Note. Timeframe was past 3 months for posting and past 30 days for HID/HED and BYAACQ. HED =heavy episodic drinking; HID =high-intensity
drinking; USAUDIT =U.S. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; BYAACQ =Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences.
a
Significance was not tested among smaller subgroups that comprise the “Other group.”
b
Variables on which analysis of variance/χ
2
test revealed higher
mean scores or proportions for men than women.
Table 3
Multiple Regression Models Predicting Heavy Episodic Drinking Frequency From Frequency of Alcohol-Related Posting on SNS and by
Strongest Racial/Ethnic Identity and Gender Identity
Variable and subgroup
Model 1 Model 2 (racial/ethnic group) Model 3 (gender)
βB95% CI of BβB95% CI of BβB95% CI of B
Public alcohol-posting frequency
Collapsing across groups 0.15 0.31 [0.13, 0.48]
White 0.35 0.71 [0.37, 1.05]
Black 0.13 0.26 [−0.00, 0.52]
Hispanic 0.41 0.20 [0.02, 0.79]
Women 0.09 0.19 [−0.09, 0.47]
Men 0.18 0.36 [0.13, 0.58]
Covariates
No. of SNS posts per week 0.05 0.02 [−0.02, 0.06] 0.04
a
0.02
a
[−0.02, 0.06]
a
0.05
b
0.02
b
[−0.02, 0.06]
b
Frequency viewing alcohol on SNS 0.20 0.96 [0.54, 1.38] 0.19
a
0.92
a
[0.51, 1.34]
a
0.20
b
0.95
b
[0.53, 1.37]
b
Note.Ftests of all models significant ( ps<.001). Effects adjusted for all other variables in model. Bold effects significant ( p<.05). To obtain simple
effects by subgroup, interactions were included in models. When White was referent: Black (vs. White) ×Posting (β=−0.15, B=−.45, 95% CI of B
[−0.88, −0.03], p=.04); Latinx (vs. White) ×Posting (β=−0.07, B=−.31, 95% CI of B[−0.82, 0.20], p=.24). When Black was referent: Latinx (vs.
Black) ×Posting (β=0.03, B=.15, 95% CI of B[−0.32, 0.61], p=.54). SNS =social networking sites; CI =confidence interval; β=standardized; B=
unstandardized.
a
Effects reported from model with White as referent.
b
Effects reported from model with women as referent.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PUBLIC POSTING AND ALCOHOL USE 5

Table 7 provides a summary of the simple effects of public
posting on alcohol outcomes, for each of the focal racial/ethnic and
gender identity subgroups.
Discussion
This study explored the association between public posting about
alcohol on SNS and four alcohol outcomes (past-year alcohol
use/problems and past-month HED frequency, HID episodes, and
consequences), among noncollege YA. We also explored whether
these associations were significant for YA of different racial/ethnic
and gender identities, given the potential for personal characteristics
to affect how YA post publicly about alcohol. Understanding
whether there is a significant association between frequency of public
posting about alcohol and “real life”alcohol outcomes is important
for informing potential social media-based screening/intervention
efforts aimed at reducing hazardous drinking among YA.
Associations Between Public Posting About Alcohol and
Alcohol Outcomes
As predicted, in models that did not account for race/ethnicity
or gender, there were significant positive associations between
frequency of public posting about alcohol and alcohol use (past-year
use/problems on USAUDIT, past-month frequency of HED, and
likelihood of a past-month HID episode). These results align with
prior research demonstrating a positive association between posting
alcohol-related content on SNS and self-reported alcohol use,
Table 4
Multiple Regression Models Predicting Any High-Intensity Drinking From Frequency of Alcohol-Related Posting on SNS and by Strongest
Racial/Ethnic Identity and Gender Identity
Variable and subgroup
Model 1 Model 2 (racial/ethnic group) Model 3 (gender)
Bβ95% CI of βBβ95% CI of βBβ95% CI of β
Public alcohol-posting frequency
Collapsing across groups 0.08 1.08 [1.00, 1.17]
White 0.05 1.05 [0.92, 1.21]
Black 0.15 1.17 [1.03, 1.32]
Hispanic 0.25 1.28 [1.02, 1.62]
Women 0.09 1.10 [1.01, 1.19]
Men 0.05 1.05 [0.96, 1.15]
Covariates
No. of SNS posts per week −0.01 0.99 [0.98, 1.00] −0.01
a
0.99
a
[0.97, 1.00]
a
−0.01
b
0.99
b
[0.98, 1.00]
b
Frequency viewing alcohol on SNS 0.14 1.15 [0.98, 1.35] 0.13
a
1.14
a
[0.97, 1.34]
a
0.14
b
1.15
b
[0.98, 1.36]
b
Note. Chi-square tests of all models significant ( ps<.05). Effects adjusted for all other variables in model. Bolded effects significant ( p<.05). To
obtain simple effects by subgroup, interactions were included in models. When White was referent: Black (vs. White) ×Posting (β=1.11, B=.10, 95%
CI of β[0.92, 1.33], p=.29); Latinx (vs. White) ×Posting (β=1.22, B=.20, 95% CI of β[0.93, 1.59], p=.16). When Black was referent: Latinx (vs.
Black) ×Posting (β=1.10, B=.09, 95% CI of β[0.85, 1.43], p=.48). SNS =social networking sites; CI =confidence interval; β=standardized; B=
unstandardized.
a
Effects reported from model with White as referent.
b
Effects reported from model with women as referent.
Table 5
Multiple Regression Models Predicting Alcohol Use and Problems (USAUDIT Total) From Frequency of Alcohol-Related Posting on SNS
and by Strongest Racial/Ethnic Identity and Gender Identity
Variable and subgroup
Model 1 Model 2 (racial/ethnic group) Model 3 (gender)
βB95% CI of BβB95% CI of BβB95% CI of B
Public alcohol-posting frequency
Collapsing across groups 0.20 0.66 [0.38, 0.95]
White 0.30 0.99 [0.44, 1.55]
Black 0.21 0.68 [0.25, 1.11]
Hispanic 0.26 0.84 [0.21, 1.48]
Women 0.25 0.81 [0.37, 1.26]
Men 0.16 0.52 [0.16, 0.88]
Covariates
No. of SNS posts per week −0.04 −0.03 [−0.09, 0.03] −0.05
a
−0.03
a
[−0.10, 0.03]
a
−0.03
b
−0.03
b
[−0.09, 0.04]
b
Frequency viewing alcohol on SNS 0.20 1.51 [0.83, 2.19] 0.19
a
1.49
a
[0.82, 2.17]
a
0.19
b
1.50
b
[0.82, 2.17]
b
Note.Ftests of all models significant ( ps<.001). Effects adjusted for all other variables in model. Bolded effects significant ( p<.05). To obtain simple
effects by subgroup, interactions were included in models. When White was referent group: Black (vs. White) ×Posting (β=−0.06, B=−.32, 95% CI of
B[−1.01, 0.38], p=.37); Latinx (vs. White) ×Posting (β=−0.02, B=−.15, 95% CI of B[−0.98, 0.68], p=.72). When Black was referent: Latinx (vs.
Black) ×Posting (β=0.02, B=.17, 95% CI of B[−0.59, 0.92], p=.67). USAUDIT =U.S. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; SNS =social
networking sites; CI =confidence interval; β=standardized; B=unstandardized.
a
Effects reported from model with White as referent.
b
Effects reported from model with women as referent.
6DAVIDSON ET AL.

mainly conducted with college-attending YA (see Curtis et al., 2018
for review).
Contrary tohypotheses, we did not observe a significant association
between public posting and past-month alcohol-related consequences.
The lack of association between public posting and consequences
contradicts prior research. Litt et al. (2018) demonstrated a positive
association between proportion of one’s public posts that are
alcohol-related (on “X”) and consequences, measured using a
similar measure to our study (the 48-item BYAACQ; Read et al.,
2006), among college-attending and noncollege YA. Contradictory
results could be explained by differences in study designs, such as
our use of an entirely noncollege sample, and a measure of
frequency of posting alcohol content (not proportion of posts) across
several SNS (“X,”Instagram, TikTok; i.e., a more comprehensive
measure of SNS posting). Given varying methodologies and
contradictory findings regarding the association between public
posting and consequences, there is a need for further research on this
association.
Associations by Race/Ethnicity
Due to a paucity of literature, we did not propose hypotheses
for whether the association between frequency of public posting
and alcohol use/consequences would differ for YA of different
racial/ethnic identities. In one of the few similar studies, Bergman
et al. (2020) observed a positive association between posting on
Instagram (number of posts and likelihood of any posts) and at-risk
drinking, among White, Asian, and Black participants, but not
Hispanic, among a community sample of YA (although posts were
not alcohol-specific). Merrill et al. (2024) found an association
between frequency of public posting about alcohol and frequency
of past-month alcohol blackouts that was specific to White YA (not
Black or Hispanic), among a U.S. noncollege sample. Somewhat
contrary to these studies, our study found a positive association
between frequency of public posting about alcohol and past-year
alcohol use/problems (USAUDIT), for YA of all focal racial/ethnic
identities (Black, White, Hispanic).
However, we did observe specificity by race/ethnicity regarding
the significance of the alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link for other
indicators of hazardous drinking, including past-month frequency
of HED and occurrence of HID. For Hispanic YA, more frequent
public posting was positively associated with both single-occasion
alcohol outcomes (HED, HID). For White YA, only the posting to
HED association was significant. For Black YA, only the posting
to HID association was significant. These results were somewhat
contrary to the aforementioned study by Bergman et al. (2020),
wherein the association between frequency of Instagram posting
(although not alcohol-specific) and at-risk drinking was not significant
for Hispanic YA. In our study, the alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link
was most consistent for Hispanic YA, compared to White or Black
YA (see Table 7 for summary).
Methodological differences may explain why results by race/
ethnicity in our study differed to Bergman et al. (2020). For example,
our study focused on self-reported frequency of posting alcohol-
specificpublicposts (i.e., posts specifictodrinkingthatare
Table 6
Multiple Regression Models Predicting Alcohol-Related Consequences (BYAACQ Total) From Frequency of Alcohol-Related Posting on SNS
and by Strongest Racial/Ethnic Identity and Gender Identity
Variable and subgroup
Model 1 Model 2 (racial/ethnic group) Model 3 (gender)
βB95% CI of BβB95% CI of BβB95% CI of B
Public alcohol-posting frequency
Collapsing across groups 0.06 0.15 [−0.07, 0.36]
White 0.15 0.36 [−0.05, 0.77]
Black 0.10 0.23 [−0.09, 0.55]
Hispanic 0.14 0.34 [−0.13, 0.81]
Women 0.24 0.58 [0.25, 0.91]
Men −0.05 −0.13 [−0.40, 0.14]
Covariates
No. of SNS posts per week −0.06 −0.03 [−0.08, 0.02] −0.06
a
−0.03
a
[−0.08, 0.01]
a
−0.06
b
−0.03
b
[−0.08, 0.01]
b
Frequency viewing alcohol on SNS 0.13 0.76 [0.26, 1.27] 0.13
a
0.72
a
[0.21, 1.22]
a
0.13
b
0.75
b
[0.25, 1.25]
b
Drinks per typical drinking day 0.21 0.98 [0.59, 1.38] 0.21
a
0.96
a
[0.56, 1.36]
a
0.23
b
1.05
b
[0.65, 1.45]
b
Note.Ftests of all models significant ( ps<.001). Effects adjusted for all other variables in model. Bolded effects significant ( p<.05). To obtain simple
effects by subgroup, interactions were included in models. When White was referent: Black (vs. White) ×Posting (β=−0.04, B=−.13, 95% CI of B
[−.64, 0.39], p=.62); Latinx (vs. White) ×Posting (β=−0.00, B=−.02, 95% CI of B[−0.64, 0.60], p=.94). When Black was referent: Latinx (vs.
Black) ×Posting (β=0.02, B=.11, 95% CI of B[−0.46, 0.67], p=.71). BYAACQ =Brief Young Adults Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire; SNS =
social networking sites; CI =confidence interval; β=standardized; B=unstandardized.
a
Effects reported from model with White as referent.
b
Effects reported from model with women as referent.
Table 7
Summary of the Simple Effects of Frequency of Public Posting on
Alcohol Outcomes by Race/Ethnicity and Gender Identity
Subgroup HED frequency Any HID USAUDIT BYAACQ
Collapsed across
groups
Yes Yes Yes No
Black No Yes Yes No
Hispanic Yes Yes Yes No
White Yes No Yes No
Men Yes No Yes No
Women No Yes Yes Yes
Note.“Yes”indicates a significant simple effect was observed for this
subgroup. “No”indicates no significant effect was observed. HED =
heavy episodic drinking; HID =high-intensity drinking; USAUDIT =
U.S. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; BYAACQ =Brief Young
Adult Alcohol Consequences.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PUBLIC POSTING AND ALCOHOL USE 7

theoretically accessible to researchers) on three popular SNS (i.e.,
more generalizable to social media users), rather than analyzing the
number and likelihood of posts of any type, on Instagram only (as per
Bergman et al., 2020). We also used several empirically supported
indicators of hazardous drinking and related problems, rather than
one single-item indicator of at-risk drinking (defined as at least one
past-year instance of having “had more than a few alcoholic drinks
a day”;Bergman et al., 2020). We consider these differences to be
strengths of our study, which may support the validity of our novel
findings regarding racial/ethnic subgroup effects for the alcohol-
posting to alcohol-use link.
Finally, no simple effects for the public-posting to alcohol-
consequences link were observed for any racial/ethnic subgroup. To
our knowledge, the link between frequency of public SNS posting
and alcohol consequences (BYAACQ) had not previously been
investigated by race/ethnicity. Cumulatively, results of the models
testing racial/ethnic subgroup effects suggest that for YA of different
racial/ethnic identities (Black, White, Hispanic), there is a positive
association between frequency of public posting about alcohol and
past-year alcohol use/problems (USAUDIT), and past-month risky
single-occasion drinking (although less consistently across racial/
ethnic subgroups for the latter), but not necessarily consequences
(BYAACQ). These findings bode quite well for potential future
efforts aiming to leverage SNS as a tool to screen for problematic
alcohol use (especially past-year use/problems) among racially/
ethnicallydiverse cohorts of noncollege YA. However,more research
is needed to replicate these subgroup effects and explore explanations
for why race/ethnicity may moderate the association between public
posting and some alcohol outcomes (e.g., HED/HID).
Association by Gender
Overall, results did not align with predictions that the alcohol-
posting to alcohol-use link would be significant for both genders,
with one exception. Our hypotheses were based on prior research
showing that greater self-reported frequency of alcohol-related
posting (public or private) on popular SNS (Facebook, Instagram,
Snapchat, “X”) was associated with greater alcohol consumption,
for both females and males transitioning into college (Davis et al.,
2021). Similarly, our findings for the USAUDIT indicated that,
regardless of gender (women/men), frequency of public posting
about alcohol was positively associated with past-year use/problems
(USAUDIT) among noncollege YA.
Contrary to hypotheses, the alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link
was not significant for both men and women, for all other outcomes.
The positive association between public posting and HID and
consequences was only significant for women. The positive association
between posting and HED was only significant for men. Methodological
differences might explain why our results contradict prior studies (e.g.,
Davis et al., 2021). For example, our study focused on only public posts
and noncollege YA (vs. public and private posts, and YA transitioning
into college; Davis et al., 2021). Our study also investigated the
alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link by gender, rather than by sex
(Davis et al., 2021), which could also explain differences in results
(we considered gender a more relevant construct than sex-at-birth,
regarding investigation of social behaviors like SNS-posting and
alcohol use). Taken together, tests of gender effects suggested the
positive public-alcohol-posting to alcohol-outcomes link may be
more consistent for women (USAUDIT, HID, BYAACQ) than men
(USAUDIT, HED). However, there is a need for further research to
replicate these subgroup effects and investigate explanations for
them, due to limited research, and heterogeneity of measures in the
extant literature.
Notably, past-year use/problem (USAUDIT) was the only outcome
in this study for which the alcohol-posting to alcohol-use link was
significant for all focal subgroups (based on gender or race/ethnicity).
The consistency of the positive association between alcohol posting
and AUDIT scores in this study and prior research (see Curtis et al.,
2018 for review) supports the idea that more frequent alcohol-related
posting on SNS may be a useful indicator of YA’s past-year alcohol
use/problems. Consistent findings for the link between posting
and USAUDIT for all subgroups in this study may also highlight
the importance of using validated, multi-item measures of alcohol
use/problems, rather than single-item measures (e.g., those used for
past-month HED/HID).
Implications
Results indicate that more frequent (self-reported) public posting
of alcohol content on SNS may be a reliable indicator of past-year
alcohol use and problems (USAUDIT), but a less reliable indicator
of past-month risky single-occasion drinking (HED, HID) and
consequences (based on nonsignificant simple effects for some
subgroups, regarding past-month effects). We observed the associa-
tion between public posting and alcohol-related outcomes most
consistently for Hispanic YA and women (Table 7), although more
research is needed to replicate these subgroup effects and investigate
potential explanations for them. This study provides insights into how
frequency of public posting about alcohol on popular SNS could be
used to identify at-risk drinkers among noncollege YA in the general
population, who may benefit from alcohol early intervention or
treatment. However, since not all YA who drink post public alcohol
content, to inform future interventions, it may be important to
establish underlying individual differences (e.g., personality traits,
cultural/normative beliefs) between YA drinkers who post about
alcohol versus those who do not.
Limitations
This study used self-report data (not data extracted from SNS) for
frequency of alcohol-related posting. This study also used cross-
sectional data, which precludes inferences about the direction of
associations. Future studies could replicate observed effects using
the frequency of actual SNS posts and a longitudinal design. Use of
actual SNS posts would allow for additional analyses, like content
analysis, to draw connections between how the content of posts
(e.g., specific words) may relate to alcohol use/problems.
Although we were not interested in comparing the strength of
effects of posting by each subgroup, modeling interactions between
posting and race/ethnicity or gender allowed us to examine simple
effects by subgroup. Interactions were mostly nonsignificant,
despite observing some significant simple effects in each subgroup.
Findings suggest that while the strength of effects did not differ
significantly between groups, the effects were statistically signifi-
cant for some subgroups and not others. Failure to observe
significant interactions may be due to lack of power. Further work
with larger samples should be conducted.
8DAVIDSON ET AL.

Conclusion
This study contributes to the growing literature on the positive
association between SNS posting about alcohol and “real life”
alcohol outcomes, among YA. Our study built on existing research
by including analysis of alcohol-related posting on several popular
SNS with a large and diverse sample of noncollege YA, use of
several validated alcohol measures, and inspection of the posting-to-
alcohol-use association by race/ethnicity and gender. Results of this
study and prior research suggest that screening for the frequency of
public posting about alcohol on SNS may be a valid way to identify
past-year heavy drinking and related problems among U.S. YA
(noncollege and college-attending). In the future, this could be an
efficient way to screen for and possibly intervene with harmful
drinking. SNS-based screening/intervention may be especially useful
with noncollege YA, who have less access to alcohol screening/
interventions than their college-attending peers, despite being more
representative of the YA population and having greater or equal need
for such resources. Further research is needed to test the acceptability
and efficacy of social media-based screening/intervention approaches.
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Received August 27, 2024
Revision received December 17, 2024
Accepted January 7, 2025 ▪
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PUBLIC POSTING AND ALCOHOL USE 9