Alcohol social media marketing and drinking behaviors among Chinese young adults: Mediation by drinking expectancies

Abstract

Aims

Exposure to alcohol content on social media has been linked to increased alcohol consumption, but data are scarce regarding the pathway of these associations. This study aims to examine the association between levels of alcohol social media marketing (SMM) exposure with positive drinking expectancies and whether these expectancies mediate recent drinking behaviour and future drinking intentions.

Methods

An anonymous, random telephone survey was conducted between June to August 2021 on Hong Kong Chinese residents between 18 and 34 years old (n = 675). The study used the Chinese Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (CDEQ-Adult) to measure drinking-related beliefs. The association between alcohol SMM with drinking behaviour outcomes was assessed with multivariable logistic regression. The study assessed the mediation of the mentioned association by drinking expectancy using the PROCESS macro (version 4.0).

Findings

Past month exposure to alcohol SMM was significantly associated with all drinking behaviours (OR_mv ranged from 1.93 to 7.85). The Total CDEQ-Adult positive expectancies score showed statistically significant mediation effects on all drinking behaviours except for future intention to drink to intoxication (Indirect effect: 0.08–0.19). Mediation analysis performed with subscales showed that Interpersonal Benefits, Increased Confidence, and Tension Reduction expectancies mediated the association between SMM exposure and drinking behaviours while Health Benefits and Negative Consequences did not.

Conclusions

The noted associations between alcohol SMM drinking behaviours may be partly explained by drinking expectancies. The study findings provide information regarding the mechanisms through which SMM influences drinking behaviors. It may be necessary to counter-balance these types of advertising messages targeting young people.