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Article

Social Media Use and Episodic Heavy Drinking Among Adolescents

Geir Scott Brunborg and Jasmina Burdzovic Andreas Department of Substance Use, Norwegian Institute

of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

Elisabeth Kvaavik Department of Drug Policy, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

Abstract

Objectives: Little is known about the consequences of adolescent social media use.

The current study estimated the association between the amount of time adoles-

cents spend on social media and the risk of episodic heavy drinking.

Methods: A school-based self-report cross-sectional study including 851 Norwegian

middle and high school students (46.1% boys). Measures: frequency and quantity of

social media use. Frequency of drinking four or six (girls and boys, respectively)

alcoholic drinks during a single day (episodic heavy drinking). The MacArthur Scale

of Subjective Social Status, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale – Brief, the Brief Sensation

Seeking Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items for Adolescents, the

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Peer Relationship problems scale, gender,

and school grade.

Results: Greater amount of time spent on social media was associated with greater

likelihood of episodic heavy drinking among adolescents (OR¼1.12, 95% CI (1.05,

1.19), p¼0.001), even after adjusting for school grade, impulsivity, sensation seeking,

symptoms of depression, and peer relationship problems.

Conclusion: The results from the current study indicate that more time spent on

social media is related to greater likelihood of episodic heavy drinking among

adolescents.

Keywords

Alcohol, episodic heavy drinking, adolescence, social media

Psychological Reports

2017, Vol. 120(3) 475–490

! The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0033294117697090

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Corresponding Author:

Geir Scott Brunborg, Department of Substance Use, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box

4404, Nydalen, 0403 Oslo, Norway.

Email: [email protected]

Introduction

Young people’s social relations and leisure time have shifted towards on-line interaction following the introduction of social media sites where adolescents exchange messages, share and watch photographs and movies, and express their thoughts and opinions (Moreno & Whitehill, 2014; White & Bariola, 2012). The proportion of adolescents engaging in these on-line activities is substantial, as is the amount of time spent on-line (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011; Swist, Collin, McCormack, & Third, 2015; Valkenburg & Peter, 2011). According to a 2016-report by the Norwegian Media Authority, 90% of Norwegian 15 to16 year olds use social media sites, the most popular among which are Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Furthermore, about one in two girls and one in three boys spend more than 2 hours per day on social media (Norwegian Media Authority, 2016). It is possible that the shift towards on-line interactions cor- responds to a reduction in real-life interaction, including situations conducive to early risk behaviors such as heavy alcohol use. However, social media may also expose adolescents to content that promotes alcohol use. The relationship between social media use and alcohol use is poorly understood, thus warranting further investigation.

Episodic heavy drinking (EHD) among young people has been associated with a number of adverse outcomes, including alcohol-related problems, lowered health, and behavioral problems (Cooper, 2002; Guo, Collins, Hill, & Hawkins, 2000; Oesterle et al., 2004; Sloan, Grossman, & Platt, 2011; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Moeykens, & Castillo, 1994). A decline in alcohol use and EHD among youth has been observed in several western countries in the last 15 years (Brunborg, Bye, & Rossow, 2014; Bye, 2012; Meier, 2010; Raninen, Livingston, & Leifman, 2014; White & Bariola, 2012). Several explanations for this decline have been proposed, including changes in parental approval, changes in legislation, and successful public health initiatives (Pennay, Livingston, & MacLean, 2015). Since the explosion in use of social media has coincided with the decline in EHD at the population level, one proposed hypoth- esis is that adolescents who spend a great deal of time on social media are doing so at the expense of their real-life interactions and are therefore less likely to par- take in real-life risky behaviors such as EHD. It may be the case that adolescents prefer on-line to real-life activities and/or spend so much time on social media that they have little free time (or interest) for drinking or other risk behaviors.

However, several explanations for why social media use may be a risk factor for drinking alcohol have been proposed (Moreno & Whitehill, 2014). One explanation is that adolescents are exposed to alcohol advertising, which can affect their attitudes to drinking alcohol (Jernigan & Rushman, 2014; Winpenny, Marteau, & Nolte, 2014). Social media also expose adolescents to appealing depictions of alcohol use and favorable comments about alcohol made by their on-line connections (Cavazos-Rehg, Krauss, Sowles, & Bierut, 2015;

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Moreno, D’Angelo, & Whitehill, 2016). This virtual exposure often far exceeds the social contexts, and groups adolescents would observe off-line. It may con- tain people of all ages and from all aspects of life. According to social learning theory, individuals tend to mimic the behavior of role models they observe (Bandura, 1971), and adolescents typically model their behavior on that of older adolescents and young adults. Young adults, including university students, may be particularly likely to share alcohol content on social media (Ridout, Campbell, & Ellis, 2012; Stoddard, Bauermeister, Gordon-Messer, Johns, & Zimmerman, 2012). Thus, prolonged exposure to social media may be associated with greater likelihood that adolescents will come across individuals or content (or both) that promote alcohol use. In addition, social media may offer ideal platforms for sharing information about opportunities for drinking (such as how to find parties where no parent or guardian is present) and information about how to obtain alcohol for those under age.

The limited available empirical evidence suggests that time spent on social media is in fact associated with increased risk of alcohol use among adolescents. For instance, a large study of adolescents in Canada reported that frequent use of social media was associated with greater risk of regular drinking and greater risk of EHD (Sampasa-Kanyinga & Chaput, 2016). Similar findings have been reported for undergraduate students in the United States, where time spent on social media was associated with higher drinking frequency, but the study did not specifically address EHD (Gutierrez & Cooper, 2016). A relation between time spent on the Internet in general and EHD has been reported (Mu, Moore, & LeWinn, 2015). Also, high frequency of electronic media communication was found to be associated with greater drinking frequency among adolescents in the Netherlands (Gommans et al., 2015). Finally, a prospective study of adolescents in the United States found that the frequency of visiting Facebook was not associated with drinking alcohol six months later, but this study did not address EHD either (Huang et al., 2014).

There are some methodological concerns identified in previous studies that investigated the relationship between time spent on social media and alcohol use. The relationship could be explained by factors related to both social media use and alcohol use, such as sensation seeking and impulsivity (Gutierrez & Cooper, 2016). Although they are partly overlapping constructs (Whiteside & Lynam, 2001), sensation seeking refers to the degree of individual need for high arousal, stimulation, and new experiences and the willingness to take risks to gain such arousal or experiences (Zuckerman, 1994), while impulsivity involves the degree of haste and unplanned reactions without considering consequences (Moeller, Barratt, Dougherty, Schmitz, & Swann, 2001). Perhaps individuals high in sen- sation seeking and impulsivity spend more time on social media, and are more likely to drink alcohol, rendering the relationship between social media use and alcohol use spurious. Similar arguments can be made in terms of other charac- teristics, such as depressive symptomatology or peer relationship problems.

Brunborg et al. 477

In their study of Canadian adolescents, Sampasa-Kanyinga and Chaput (2016) adjusted the estimates for age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and parental education but they did not include other possible confounding factors, such as impulsivity, sensation seeking, level of depression, and peer influence, which have all been implicated in the development of adolescent problem drinking (Curcio, Mak, & George, 2013).

In the current study, we investigated the association between the amount of time adolescents spend on social media and the frequency of EHD. To our knowledge, only one previous study has investigated this association (Sampasa-Kanyinga & Chaput, 2016), therefore further investigation is war- ranted. Based on the current state of knowledge, we hypothesized that time spent on social media would be positively associated with frequency of adoles- cent EHD. The current study also adds to the literature by assessing a wide range of possible confounding factors, including gender, age, subjective social status, impulsivity, sensation seeking, symptoms of depression, and peer rela- tionship problems.

Methods

Sampling methods and study participants

The sample comes from the baseline survey of a mixed-methods short-term prospective study investigating substance use and other addictive behaviors among Norwegian youth. Schools were the primary recruitment platform, with the goal of complete student enrolment in Grades 8 through 12. Of the seven approached schools in eastern Norway, four middle schools and one high school agreed to study participation (one additional middle school participated only in the qualitative study arm and was thus excluded from the hereby described sample). Nearly all (96%) Norwegian students go to public schools, therefore only public schools were invited to take part in the study. All students in Grades 8 to 12 from the four schools were approached for participation. In addition to their own assent, parental consent was required for middle school students, whereas high school students consented themselves. A modest contribution (approximately USD 120, EUR 110) was made to the classroom ‘‘savings account’’ to be used for class trips and/or projects regardless of indi- vidual student participation. Teachers who assisted with study logistics were also reimbursed for their time with a modest honorarium. The study was approved by the Norwegian Data protection Official for Research/Centre for Research Data (NSD, case # 39513).

A total of 1326 students were approached for survey participation; of these, 943 (71.1%) provided either own or parental consent, and 884 students (93.7%) participated. Students were relatively evenly distributed across school grades

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(17.9%, 15.0%, and 18.3% were in middle school grades 8, 9, and 10, and 23.9% and 24.9% were in high school grades 11 and 12, respectively) and gender (46.3% boys). The majority had both parents born in Norway (80.7%).

Data collection methods and procedures

Students completed a computer-based questionnaire in their respective class- rooms during class time in October 2014. Teachers supervised questionnaire completion, clarifying questions if need be, maintaining order, and safeguarding confidentiality. DatStat software was used for data management and computer- based data collection (DatStat Inc., 2012).

Measures

The questionnaire included a range of questions assessing demographic, cul- tural, peer, family, and individual characteristics potentially relevant to early substance use and other addictive behaviors. All measures were based on devel- opmentally appropriate, validated, and commonly used measures, which were translated and modified for the Norwegian context as needed.

EHD outcome. Adolescents reported how often during the last 12 months they consumed at least four (for girls) or six (for boys) alcoholic drinks during a single day. It was specified in the questionnaire that an alcohol drink equaled a 330-ml bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a 40-ml shot/drink of spirits. The response options were ‘‘not at all in the last year,’’ ‘‘one day in the last year,’’ ‘‘2–5 days in the last year,’’ ‘‘6–11 days in the last year,’’ ‘‘one day per month,’’ ‘‘2–3 days per month,’’ ‘‘1–2 days per week,’’ ‘‘3–4 days per week,’’ and ‘‘every day.’’ Those who indicated ‘‘3–4 days per week’’ and ‘‘every day’’ were excluded from further analysis (see Analysis section below). The remaining responses were coded 0 (‘‘not at all in the last year’’) to 6 (‘‘1–2 days per week’’) and used as an ordinal variable in the analysis. Those who indicated not drinking alcohol in the last year in a separate question or drinking alcohol but not EHD were assigned to the ‘‘not at all in the last year’’ category (coded 0).

Time spent on social media. Social media use was assessed with two questions. Adolescents first responded to the question:

In the last 12 months, how often have you been active on social media (e.g.

Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Kik, Ask). By activity we

mean that you are doing something, such as reading, writing, watching pictures,

making comments, making appointments, etc., and not the time you are logged on

without being active.

Brunborg et al. 479

Responses were made by checking the most appropriate interval category ran- ging from ‘‘Every day’’ to ‘‘Not at all in the last 12 months.’’ The geometric mean of the minimum and maximum interval value was used to compute the corresponding number of days per year: for example, the response of ‘‘3–4 days per week’’ was recoded into 180 days in the last 12 months.

Adolescents also reported the usual amount of time spent on social media (i.e., ‘‘How many hours do you usually spend using social media on the days when you use social media’’), by selecting a response option ranging from ‘‘less than 1 hour’’ (coded 0.5) to ‘‘more than 15 hours’’ (coded 16). The product of quantity (i.e., the number of hours per day) and frequency (i.e., the number of days) divided by 365 reflected the average number of hours per day spent on social media. Respondents who did not use social media in the last 12 months were assigned a value of zero.

Demographics. Adolescents reported their gender and school grade. In addition, their subjective social status was measured by the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status – Youth version (Goodman et al., 2001), by asking the adolescents to place their family along the Norwegian socio-economic ladder ranging from those families who ‘‘have it best’’ (coded 10) to those who are ‘‘the worst off’’ (coded 1).

Temperamental traits. Impulsivity was assessed with the 8-item Barratt Impulsiveness Scale – Brief (Steinberg, Sharp, Stanford, & Tharp, 2013). The scale taps into the general impulsivity/disinhibition domain (e.g., ‘‘I act on the spur of the moment’’) and was coded by the four-point Likert type responses ranging from 1 (‘‘Never or rarely’’) to 4 (‘‘Always or almost always’’). Sensation seeking was assessed with the 4-item Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (Stephenson, Hoyle, Palmgreen, & Slater, 2003; Vallone, Allen, Clayton, & Xiao, 2007). Individual items (e.g., ‘‘I like to do frightening things’’) were coded with the five-point Likert type responses ranging from 1 (‘‘Completely disagree’’) to 5 (‘‘Completely agree’’). Both scales have previously been used with adolescent populations. Scores on individual items were averaged to compute overall scale scores. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was 0.69 for the impulsivity scale and 0.71 for the sensation seeking scale.

Symptoms of depression. Adolescents reported their depressive symptomatology during the past week on the 9-item Severity Measure for Depression (child age 11–17 years), (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items for Adolescents (Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001)), originally adapted from the Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents (Johnson, Harris, Spitzer, & Williams, 2002). Individual items (e.g., ‘‘Feeling down, depressed, irritable, or hopeless’’) were coded on four-point Likert-type responses, ranging from 1 (‘‘Not at all’’) to

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4 (‘‘Nearly every day’’). Scores on individual items were averaged to create scale severity scores. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the scale was 0.85.

Peer relationship problems. Adolescents reported their degree of peer relationship problems with the 5-item peer relationship problems subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman & Goodman, 2009; Goodman, Lamping, & Ploubidis, 2010). Example items are as follows: ‘‘I am usually on my own. I generally play alone or keep to myself,’’ and ‘‘Other children or young people pick on me or bully me.’’ Item responses were coded on three-point scales (0¼not true, 1¼somewhat true, 2¼certainly true). Scores on individual items were summed to compute overall scale scores with a range of 0 to 10, where higher scores indicate greater peer relationship problems. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the scale was 0.59.

Analysis

All analyses were conducted using STATA version 14. Nine cases were excluded due to affirmative responses on screener items (i.e., use of non-existent sub- stances), two cases due to a dubious response (i.e., EHD 2–3 times per week and every day), and 22 because of missing information about EHD frequency. The analytical sample consisted of 851 individuals.

In the analysis, missing data were handled by multiple imputation in ordered to reduce the possible bias and loss of statistical power associated with listwise deletion. The multiple imputation procedure in Stata version 14 (StataCorp LP, 2015) with linear regression imputation was used to create 10 datasets based on the variables included in the final regression model. The results from the 10 separate analyses were pooled to single multiple imputation results using the ‘‘mi estimate’’ command.

Ordinal regression was used to estimate the relationship between time spent on social media and frequency of EHD, where the seven ordered EHD categories (ranging from 0¼ ‘‘not at all in the last year’’ to 6¼ ‘‘1-2 days per week’’) was the outcome variable (Model 1). To assess whether demographic factors (i.e., gender, school grade, and subjective social status) and individual factors (i.e., impulsivity, sensation seeking, symptoms of depression, and peer relationship problems) were confounding the putative association between the time spent on social media and EHD, these groups of variables were added in successive stages of the analysis. In Model 2, demographic variables (i.e., gender, school grade, and subjective social status) were added. In the final model (Model 3), individual factors were also added (i.e. impulsivity, sensation seeking, symptoms of depression, and peer rela- tionship problems). The OR estimates from ordinal regression can be interpreted as the change in odds of belonging to higher versus lower EHD frequency cate- gories given 1 hour increase in social media use.

Brunborg et al. 481

Results

The frequency distribution of EHD in the sample as well as the mean number of hours of social media use on average per day for each frequency category are presented in Table 1. Almost 80% of the sample had not taken part in EHD in the last 12 months, but the remaining sample was distributed over the EHD frequency categories. Regressing social media use on EHD frequency showed a linear relationship (b¼0.46, 95% CI (0.32, 0.60), p<0.001), where moving from a lower to a higher EHD frequency category was associated with about half an hour more time spent on social media on average per day.

Sample characteristics and descriptive statistics for all study variables are shown in Table 2. On average, adolescents from our sample spent more than two and a half hours per day using social media. Most adolescents, 70.3%, reported being active on social media every day, while only 1.7% reported no social media activity whatsoever during the last year.

Pairwise Spearman correlations showed that EHD frequency was positively correlated with hours of social media per day, school grade, impulsivity, sensa- tion seeking, and symptoms of depression (Table 2). Peer relationship problems were weakly negatively correlated with EHD frequency. Gender and subjective social status were also not associated with EHD frequency. Boys spent fewer hours on social media per day compared to girls. Social media use was positively correlated with school grade, impulsivity, sensation seeking, and symptoms of depression.

Results from the ordinal logistic regression models are presented in Table 3. In Model 1, the number of hours spent on social media was positively related to

Table 1. Episodic heavy drinking (EHD) frequency distribution

and mean number of hours of social media per day for the EHD

frequency groups.

EHD frequency category No. %

Hours of social

media per day,

M (95% CI)

0. Not at all in the last year 661 77.7 2.33 (2.09, 2.56)

1. One day in the last year 30 3.5 2.77 (2.15, 3.39)

2. 2–5 days in the last year 59 6.9 3.59 (2.69, 4.49)

3. 6–11 days in the last year 32 3.8 3.23 (2.14, 4.32)

4. One day per month 23 2.7 4.07 (2.22, 5.93)

5. 2–3 days per month 29 3.4 3.73 (2.37, 5.08)

6. 1–2 days per week 17 2.0 6.26 (3.86, 8.67)

Total 851 100.0

EHD: episodic heavy drinking.

482 Psychological Reports 120(3)

Table 3. Ordered logistic regression: EHD frequency regressed on hours of social media

use per day adjusted for demographic and individual level variables (N¼851).

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3

EHD frequency EHD frequency EHD frequency

Variables OR (95% CI) p OR (95% CI) p OR (95% CI) p

Hours of social media use

on average per day

1.16 (1.11, 1.22) <0.001 1.19 (1.12, 1.26) <0.001 1.12 (1.05, 1.19) 0.001

Demographic factors

Gender (male) 0.97 (0.67, 1.40) 0.881 1.15 (0.77, 1.73) 0.483

School grade 3.24 (2.64, 3.98) <0.001 3.32 (2.69, 4.08) <0.001

Subjective social status 1.02 (0.92, 1.13) 0.707 1.04 (0.94, 1.16) 0.446

Individual factors

Impulsivity 1.84 (1.17, 2.91) 0.009

Sensation seeking 1.31 (1.05, 1.62) 0.016

Symptoms of depression 2.27 (1.51, 3.41) <0.001

Peer relationship problems 0.76 (0.66, 0.86) <0.001

Note: EHD: episodic heavy drinking¼drinking 4/6 drinks (females and males, respectively) at one occasion.

Table 2. Sample characteristics and pairwise Spearman correlations among the study

variables.

No. Variables

Valid

(N) Range M (SD)/% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. EHD frequency 851 0–6 0.69 (1.48) –

2. Hours of social

media per day

727 0–16 2.62 (2.98) 0.24* –

3. Gender (male) 851 0–1 46.1 �0.01 �0.25* –

4. School grade 851 8–12 10.20 (1.43) 0.46* 0.15* 0.01 –

5. Subjective social

status

814 1–10 7.11 (1.84) 0.01 �0.03 0.09* 0.04 –

6. Impulsivity 835 1–4 2.08 (0.46) 0.14* 0.17* 0.06 0.01 �0.16* –

7. Sensation seeking 827 1–5 3.00 (0.95) 0.19* 0.25* 0.05 0.11* 0.10* 0.18* –

8. Symptoms of

depression

833 1–4 1.65 (0.53) 0.21* 0.32* �0.25* 0.11* �0.14* 0.40* 0.19* –

9. Peer relationship

problems

829 0–10 1.81 (1.67) �0.07* �0.02 0.05 �0.01 �0.12* 0.22* �0.05 0.30*

Note: EHD: episodic heavy drinking¼drinking 4/6 drinks (females and males, respectively) at one occasion.

*p < 0.05.

Brunborg et al. 483

the likelihood of EHD. Adding demographic factors in Model 2 did not change this estimate substantially. Gender and subjective social status were weakly associated with the likelihood of EHD, but higher school grade was strongly associated with greater likelihood of EHD. In Model 3, after adding individual factors, the estimate for the association between social media use and EHD frequency was somewhat attenuated. Each 1 hour increase in average daily social media use was associated with 12% greater odds of belonging to a higher versus a lower EHD category; for instance, EHD once per month or more frequently versus EHD less frequently than once per month. Impulsivity, sensation seeking, and symptoms of depression were all associated with greater likelihood of EHD, whereas peer relationship problems were asso- ciated with lower likelihood of EHD.

Discussion

Our results indicate that the more time adolescents spent on social media, the more frequently they tended to engage in EHD. This is consistent with findings from the previous studies of Canadian adolescents (Sampasa-Kanyinga & Chaput, 2016) and American undergraduate students (Gutierrez & Cooper, 2016), though the latter study investigated drinking frequency and not EHD. Our results are also consistent with studies showing that time spent using the Internet in general is associated with increased likelihood of EHD (Mu et al., 2015), and that greater frequency of electronic communication is associated with higher drinking frequency (Gommans et al., 2015). Our study adds to the lit- erature by demonstrating that the relationship between social media use and EHD is evident even after controlling for a range of demographic and individual characteristics.

Our results differ from Huang et al. (2014) who found no association between Facebook use and alcohol use, but the studies are not directly comparable because the design and measurement methods were different. However, Huang et al. (2014) did find that the likelihood of drinking alcohol was greater if adolescents had many friends who posted pictures of partying and drinking on social media sites. This supports the idea that exposure to alcohol-related content on social media, and the desire to mimic the behavior of others, is what may explain the association between time spent on social media and alcohol consumption among adolescents (Bandura, 1971; Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2015; Moreno et al., 2016). Other explanations for the relationship between use of social media and EHD are that adolescents are exposed to alcohol advertising on-line, which can affect their attitudes to drinking alcohol (Jernigan & Rushman, 2014; Winpenny et al., 2014), and that social media can offer platforms that are ideal for sharing infor- mation about where to obtain alcohol and where to drink.

The population-level reduction in EHD among young people in recent years has coincided with an increase in social media use, which could also suggest an

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inverse individual-level relation between social media use and EHD. However, associations at the population level are not necessarily observed at the individual level, and they may even go in opposite directions (Piantadosi, Byar, & Green, 1988; Robinson, 2009). The results from our study suggest a positive association at the individual level, which points to the possibility that the nega- tive correlation at the population level is confounded by one or several unknown third variables. The reason or reasons for the decline in heavy drinking among young people in recent years is still unknown, and further investigation is warranted.

While our results offer tentative support for the argument that the extensive social media use may be a risk factor for underage problem drinking behaviors, further research is needed to fully understand the nature of the association we observed. In particular, there is a need for prospective cohort studies with appropriate measures and proper control for confounding. If future studies are consistent with the results from the current study, it implies that efforts to restrict time spent on social media may reduce EHD among adolescents. Future research may benefit from differentiating between different kinds of social media activities to understand what social media content may increase the risk of EHD. Adolescents are spending a substantial amount of time using social media, and while most of what they are exposed to may be harmless, it is likely to be an important platform for learning, communicating, and exposure to other people’s behavior, including various high-risk behaviors such as EHD.

Considering the covariates, girls in our sample did not differ significantly from boys in terms of EHD frequency, which is in line with data from most northern European countries (The ESPAD Group, 2016). School grade (age) was also strongly positively associated with EHD frequency. We found no sig- nificant association between subjective social status and EHD frequency, which is in line with most previous studies (Hanson & Chen, 2007). As expected, sen- sation seeking, impulsivity, and symptoms of depression were positively asso- ciated with frequency of EHD (Curcio et al., 2013; Gutierrez & Cooper, 2016; Hittner & Swickert, 2006). Young people who feel a need for excitement and new experiences and/or who have problems with self-control may be more likely to take part in EHD. Also, some adolescents (and older people) who feel depressed or have persistent high levels of negative affectivity are motivated to drink to seek distraction or to reduce negative emotions (Brunborg, in press; Cheetham, Allen, Yücel, & Lubman, 2010; Colder & Chassin, 1997; Shoal, Gudonis, Giancola, & Tarter, 2008). Finally, and interestingly, we found lower likelihood of EHD for adolescents with greater peer relationship prob- lems. Influence from peers has been found to be one of the most important risk factors for adolescent drinking (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992). Ironically, if friends tend to provide primarily negative influences, then lacking such close friendships may be a protective factor that reduces the likelihood of EHD in adolescence.

Brunborg et al. 485

Limitations

The results from the current study may have been affected by self-report bias. Alcohol use is often underreported (Greenfield & Kerr, 2008; Østhus & Brunborg, 2015), and future studies may benefit from more objective measure- ment of EHD. Some respondents could have been misclassified to a lower EHD frequency category; however, this is not likely to have changed the results sub- stantially. Because it is a rather broad construct, internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was low for the peer relationship problems measure. This may have introduced measurement error, which may have resulted in a deflated estimate of the relation between peer relationship problems and EHD. However, our primary results remained substantially unchanged even without this variable in the model.

A validation study where self-reported time spent on social media is com- pared with an objective measure would be a welcome addition to this field of research. There also needs to be agreement as to what constitutes time spent on social media. For instance, a feature of social media sites used on mobile telephones is so-called ‘‘push notifications’’ that notifies the user if something happens. There is still uncertainty as to whether the amount of time being avail- able for such notification should count as time spent on social media. It may be more appropriate to measure the number of times per day adolescents check social media sites rather than to ask about the number of minutes or hours they are active as in the current study. However, this would assume that each ‘‘checking’’ takes an equal amount of time, which is a strong assumption. More work is needed to improve the quantification of social media use.

The sample was not drawn at random from the population of Norwegian adolescents. Therefore, we have to be cautious with generalizing the results to the population of Norwegian adolescents, or more broadly. The study was cross sectional; therefore, the direction of the observed association is unclear. Longitudinal studies would be a welcome addition to further research in this field as longitudinal designs allow for temporal separation of exposure and out- come. Longitudinal studies with multiple time points that apply fixed effects modeling also allows for control of time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity. We controlled for several possible confounding factors but there may be other factors that should be accounted for in future studies. For instance, adolescents who spend little time on other activities, such as sports practice and hobbies, may spend more time on social media and have more time available to engage in risk behaviors such as EHD.

Conclusion

The current study is among the first to investigate the association between time spent on social media and EHD among adolescents. The results indicate that

486 Psychological Reports 120(3)

time spent on social media is related to greater risk of EHD. Knowledge about how social media can affect adolescent development is important for policy makers, teachers, parents, and researchers. The results from the current study should be regarded as preliminary, and more research is needed before parents and policy makers advise adolescents to restriction their use of social media.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica- tion of this article.

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Author Biographies

Geir Scott Brunborg, PhD, is a senior researcher Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department of Substance use. His research concerns substance use among adolescents and adults, in particular risk- and protective factors for onset and increased substance use, as well as mental health problems. He has also published research concerning gambling, videogames and social media.

Jasmina Burdzovic Andreas, PhD, ScM is a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department of Substance Use. Her primary research interests include developmental psychopathology, developmental epidemiology, and risk and resilience processes associated with underage substance use and mental health. She is involved in multiple longitudinal studies examining the causes, correlates, consequences, as well as the critical timing of substance use and other problem behaviours in children and adolescents.

Elisabeth Kvaavik, PhD, is a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department of Drug Policy. Her primary research interest is tobacco use as a public health issue, including daily smoking, passive smoking and non-daily smoking in the general population and among sub-groups (e.g. youth). She is also involved in research projects concerning alcohol and drug use in addition to tobacco use among young people; early onset and problem use as well as recreational use of the same substances.

490 Psychological Reports 120(3)

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