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326327
Facebook Displays of Alcohol in University Students Studying Abroad


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Megan Pumper, BA, Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA
Adrienne Ton, BS, Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA
Ellen Selkie, MD, MPH, Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA
Alina Arseniev-Koehler, BA, Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA
Megan Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH, Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA
Alcohol use and adverse alcohol-related events in university students increase while studying abroad. Facebook displays of alcohol are associated with reported use. This study investigated displays of alcohol on Facebook among undergraduate university students who studied abroad compared to students who did not study abroad.

In this case-control study, undergraduates from two universities were friended on Facebook for a larger study of 329 participants. Students who studied abroad (cases) were matched 1:1 to controls by gender, race, and university. Matched case and control profiles were coded for alcohol content before (Time 1) and during (Time 2) the cases’ study abroad experience. Profiles were coded as non-displayer (ND), alcohol displayer (AD), and problematic drinking displayer (PDD) at each time point.  Inter-rater reliability was 0.80. Analyses include Chi-Square tests.

Of participants, 44 had studied abroad (65.9% female, 81.8% Caucasian, and 38.6% from university A). Among combined case and control group at Time 1, 41 (46.6%) were ND, 30 (34.1%) AD, and 17 (19.3%) PDD. There was no difference in display type at Time 1 between cases and controls (p=0.71). Among cases, 18 (40.9%) went from ND to AD or PDD from Time 1 to Time 2 compared to 5 (11.4%) of controls, 21 (41.7%) didn’t change compared to 30 (68.2%) of controls, and 5 (11.4%) decreased compared to 9 (20.4%) of controls. Changes in the control group were significantly different from cases (p=0.0065).

Findings suggest new opportunities for using social media to reach university students studying abroad to provide alcohol education.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Communication and informatics
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Compare how undergraduate university students who study abroad display about alcohol on Facebook before and during studying abroad compared to students who do not study abroad.

Keyword(s): Alcohol Use, Social Media

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been part of a research team with experience in studies from multiple federally funded grants focusing on alcohol and drug use in college populations. Among my scientific interests has been the development of innovative interventions for preventing alcohol-related harm and addiction in college students.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2055.0: College drinking: populations, social media, interventions, and outcomes