Kaveri Subrahmanyam’s research while affiliated with University of North Florida and other places

Background: Many university students pregame or drink before a social event. Pregaming carries some risk due to its link to heavy drinking. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was limited access to many drinking venues (e.g., bars/clubs). Moreover, universities shifted to a virtual format and imposed restrictions on in-person gatherings resulting in the reliance on virtual platforms for class instruction, meetings, and social events. The pandemic facilitated changes in students' drinking behaviors, stress levels, and how they maintained social contact with others. Thus, it is conceivable that during an academic pandemic year, students may have engaged in the act of drinking before attending a virtual social event. Objectives: In the present study, we examined the factor structures/item loadings of the Pregaming Motives Measure-Virtual (PGMM-V) among students (N = 283; Mage = 21.38; women = 69.3%; White = 45.4%, Hispanic = 40.8%) from seven universities who completed an online questionnaire (Spring/Summer-2021). Items from the original Pregaming Motives Measure (Bachrach et al., 2012) were modified to reflect motives to drink before attending a virtual social event. Results: We found evidence for a 2-factor structure model of the PGMM-V which includes social/enhancement and social ease/stress. Bivariate correlations indicated that social/enhancement and social ease/stress were (a) positively associated with frequency of drinking and alcohol consumption prior to attending virtual social events, and (b) general drinking motives (social/enhancement/coping) that align with these motives. Conclusions: The PGMM-V is a promising instrument that could be used in future research designed to understand students' pregaming behaviors for virtual social events as the use of such platforms are increasingly relied upon for social engagement.

Objective: A drinking game (DG) is a risky social drinking activity that is prevalent among university students and promotes rapid alcohol consumption. We examined university students' DG behaviors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Students (N = 368; Mage=21.12; women = 72.6%; Hispanic = 44.7%) from seven universities completed an online survey in 2021 (spring/summer). Results: 57% played DGs in-person before the pandemic and continued to play during the pandemic. These students were less worried about their health/symptoms if they were to contract COVID-19, had lower confidence in wearing a mask properly/socially distancing while under the influence of alcohol, consumed more alcohol during the pandemic, and endorsed higher enhancement drinking motives than students who played DGs before but stopped playing during the pandemic (30%). Conclusions: College health practitioners could pay close attention to students who endorse high enhancement motives as they are susceptible to risky DG play.

The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have only recently begun to be explored. Among college students, who were faced with sudden and unprecedented changes and challenges, it is likely that COVID-19 detrimentally impacted the establishment of a sense of self, a key developmental task of the college years. However, no research has examined the relationships among COVID-19 related worries, identity distress, and psychological and academic adjustment. To address these gaps in the current study, we examined the prevalence of identity distress, the relationship between COVID-19 related worries and identity distress, and the direct and indirect associations between COVID-19 related worries and psychological and academic adjustment among a sample of 1627 college students ( M age = 20.51, SD = 2.21). Findings indicated that over a third of the sample reported high levels of identity distress and that COVID-19 related worries were negatively associated, both directly and indirectly through identity distress, with psychological and academic adjustment.

Using a cross-sectional survey study with undergraduate students ( N = 1257; M age = 20; 908 women) in the United States, this paper examined college students’ use of social media for coping and its association with COVID-19-related worries (loneliness, interpersonal stress, anxiety) and mental health outcomes (depression, generalized anxiety, and life satisfaction). Undergraduate students were found to use social media frequently during the pandemic to socially connect with others online and to modulate negative emotions. Structural equation modeling revealed that COVID-19-related worries were positively related to social media use for coping and that coping using social media was negatively related to general mental health concerns (depression, generalized anxiety) and positively associated with general mental health wellness (i.e., life satisfaction). Implications of using social media for coping during the pandemic for college student mental health are discussed.

Explored the experiences of public university students (N = 1,573) in five domains (e.g., mental health, remote learning) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether these experiences differed as a function of college generation status. Mental health challenges were observed, with first-generation students reporting higher depression, anxiety, and pandemic-related stress than continuing-generation students. One-fourth of students reported suicidal ideation/ suicide attempts since the start of the pandemic, but few (15%; fewer first- than continuing-generation) had accessed mental health services. Other common stressors included having to self-isolate due to exposure to, living with someone who tested positive for, and having been diagnosed with, COVID-19. Disruptions in social connection were prevalent. Students reported limited access to various social supports, feeling isolated, and having endured close relationship losses. Remote learning challenges included having to share devices, lacking reliable Internet and dedicated home learning spaces, and being disturbed by others at home (more first- than continuing-generation students). The pandemic has widened the divide between first- and continuing-generation students and has exacerbated the challenges faced by all students (and created new ones). Identifying these challenges is an essential first step toward developing methods for enhancing student well-being in the higher education “new normal.”

Research on adolescents’ sexual exposure has mostly focused on negcative outcomes using a risk-based lens, and there is little work on the factors that may predict exposure, as well as youths’ emotional responses to sexual content. Using a cross-national sample, the present study examined the associations of individual (sensation seeking and emotional problems) and social characteristics (the quality of family environment, including active and restrictive parental mediation) with adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit materials and their feelings after exposure. The survey included 8,820 11- to 16-year-olds (Mage = 13.36 years, SD = 1.62, 48.0% male) from nine European countries (Czech Republic, Finland, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland). The results revealed that although there were differences in the prevalence of youths’ sexual exposure by country, there were also similarities in the characteristics underlying exposure and subsequent feelings across different country contexts. No significant relationship was found between active parental mediation and exposure in most countries, and the findings regarding restrictive parental mediation were mixed. Although the majority of the participants reported neutral feelings, there were gender differences in feeling happy and upset after exposure. Overall, the results suggest that exposure may not be as distressing to youth as prevalent risk-focused narratives have suggested.