Peer Pressure Influences Older Adult Alcohol Consumption

Follow Drugslib on

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 3, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Jan. 3, 2025 -- Think you’re too old to cave to peer pressure when it comes to boozing?

That’s probably not so, a new study says.

An adult’s network of social connections plays a crucial role in how heavily they tend to drink, researchers reported Jan. 1 in the journal Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.

“Our results highlight the pivotal role of the social environment in shaping individual drinking behavior,” regardless of a person’s age, concluded the research team led by Maarten van den Ende, a postdoctoral researcher with the University of Amsterdam.

The researchers found there are “feedback loops” between people and their social contacts when it comes to drinking, with everyone influenced by the imbibing around them.

“An individual's drinking behavior is both influenced by and contributes to the dynamics within their social environment,” researchers wrote.

For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 1,700 participants in a long-term study of heart health taking place in the town of Framingham, MA.

The data included information on peoples’ drinking habits, smoking behavior and job success, as well as others to whom each individual had a social connection through family or friendship.

Results showed that a person’s drinking tended to reflect the drinking behavior of the people around them, regardless of age.

People who drank more had more connections with heavier drinkers, while those who drank less had more connections with people who abstain from alcohol, researchers found.

What’s more, those who befriended more drinking buddies tended to increase their imbibing over time, while those who gained more teetotaling comrades wound up drinking less.

“However, there were no clear associations over time between smoking habits, job prestige, and drinking, suggesting that the social environment is a more influential factor in modifying drinking behavior than smoking or socioeconomic status,” researchers concluded in a news release from the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Sources

  • Research Society on Alcoholism, news release, Dec. 31, 2024

    • Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

    Source: HealthDay

    Posted : 2025-01-04 00:00

    Read more

    Disclaimer

    Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

    The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

    Popular Keywords