Social facilitation of alcohol subjective effects in adolescents: Associations with subsequent alcohol use

Rationale Laboratory research in adults indicates that alcohol-related subjective effects are enhanced under some social conditions. However, it is unknown whether this “social facilitation” of alcohol effects occurs in adolescents and is associated with alcohol use in the natural ecology. Objectives We examined associations of social facilitation of alcohol-related subjective effects with subsequent alcohol use among a relatively high-risk group of adolescents who reported drinking alcohol both with friends and alone. Methods Los Angeles high school students from a prospective study ( N = 142; 51% female; 10th graders) completed a baseline survey that assessed alcohol-related “positive” and “negative” subjective effects in two contexts: social (alcohol with friends) and solitary (alcohol alone); social facilitation was calculated as the difference between social and solitary. Students then completed five semi-annual surveys spanning 30 months (2014–2017) assessing 30-day alcohol use (days used, number of drinks, binge drinking). Results Greater social facilitation of positive effects was significantly associated with greater number of alcohol use days (RR [95% CI] = 1.48 [1.19, 1.82]; p