facebook and myspace May Help Identify College Students' Drinking Problems

Native News Network Staff in Native Health. Discussion »

Problem Drinking

BETHESDA, MARYLAND - American Indian parents and others, such as prospective employers, may be able to identify college students who have drinking problems by looking at the student's social media activity.

College students who post references to getting drunk, blacking out, or other aspects of dangerous drinking on social networking sites are more likely to have clinically significant alcohol problems than students who do not post such references, according to a study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Washington-Seattle, examined public facebook profiles of more than 300 undergraduate students at those universities. The researchers divided the profiles into three categories: those that had no alcohol references; those that had alcohol references but no references to intoxication or problem drinking; and those that included references to "being drunk," "getting wasted," or other problem drinking behaviors. They also invited the profile owners to complete an online version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, or AUDIT, a screening tool that clinicians use to measure problem drinking.

"We found that underage college students who referenced dangerous drinking habits, such as intoxication or blacking out, were more likely to have AUDIT scores that indicate problem drinking or alcohol-related injury," says first author Megan A. Moreno MD, assistant professor of adolescent medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. An AUDIT score of 8 or higher indicates an individual is at risk for problem drinking. The three groups in the study had average AUDIT scores of 4.7, 6.7, and 9.5, respectively.

Dr. Moreno and her colleagues note that, because many students do not seek routine or preventive health care at student health centers, innovative approaches are needed to identify college students who are at risk for problem drinking.

"Underage college students and adolescents frequently display references to alcohol on facebook," says Dr. Moreno. "Our study suggests that parents and college health care providers who note references to problem drinking on the facebook profiles of adolescents should consider discussing drinking habits with their children and patients."

"This interesting finding indicates that social networking sites may be a useful tool in the ongoing search for ways to identify and intervene with college students who are at risk for alcohol use problems," adds National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Acting Director Kenneth R. Warren PhD.

A report of the findings appears online in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the NIH, also provided support for the study.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the primary US agency for conducting and supporting research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol problems. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism also disseminates research findings to general, professional, and academic audiences.

posted October 5, 2011 6:40 am edt