Associations between heavy drinker’s alcohol-related social media exposures and personal beliefs and attitudes regarding alcohol treatment

OBJECTIVE: Social media use among American adults is ubiquitous. Alcohol-related social media posts often glamorize heavy drinking, with increased exposure to such content associated with greater alcohol use. Comparatively less is known, however, about how social media promotes alcohol-related health behavior change. Greater scientific knowledge in this area may enhance our understanding of the relationship between social media and alcohol behaviors, helping to inform clinical and public health recommendations. We examined the relationship between exposure to peer alcohol-related social media posts (pro-drinking, negative consequences, and pro-treatment/recovery) and treatment-seeking intentions among heavy drinkers, as well as potential mediators of the relationship (e.g., attitudes toward treatment effectiveness). METHOD: Hazardous drinking adults (aged 18–55 years) who use social media (N = 499) completed an online questionnaire. Linear regression analysis examined the association between alcohol-related social media exposures and treatment-seeking intentions. Mediation was tested using structural equation modelling RESULTS: Exposure to peer pro-drinking posts was negatively associated with intentions to seek treatment (β = -0.67, p < 0.01), whereas exposures to peer alcohol-related negative consequences posts and peer posts about positive experiences with treatment/recovery were positively associated with treatment-seeking intentions (β = 0.69, p < 0.01; β = 1.23, p < 0.001, respectively). Mediation analysis concluded the effect of exposures on intentions was explained partially by attitudes toward treatment effectiveness (25.5%) and alcohol treatment stigma (6.1%). Conclusions: Findings suggest peers’ alcohol-related social media posts may both promote and hinder health behavior change depending on the nature of the post. Future research that develops and tests social media-delivered interventions to promote treatment and recovery seeking is warranted.