Excluded, then inebriated: A preliminary investigation into the role of ostracism on alcohol consumption

INTRODUCTION: Ostracism has only recently been investigated as a relevant social stressor that might precede college student alcohol use. The present study continues initial efforts to examine the effects of ostracism on subsequent alcohol consumption in the laboratory. A 2 (sex: male, female) × 2 (condition: ostracism, control) between-subjects experimental design was conducted to examine the effects of these variables on alcohol consumption in the laboratory. METHODS: = 40; 43% female) were randomly assigned to one of two social interaction tasks: either an in-person conversation from which the participant was excluded by two confederates, or independently rating neutrally valenced photographs alongside confederates. Participants then consumed a priming drink (targeted dose = 0.03 BrAC) before completing a mock taste test of up to 710 ml of light beer. Amount consumed (in ml) during the mock taste test served as the primary dependent variable. RESULTS: = 7; 3 control, 4 ostracism), results indicated that males consumed more beer than females, and that ostracized participants trended toward consuming more beer than control participants. CONCLUSIONS: Findings contribute important methodological additions to a burgeoning literature on the effects of ostracism on drinking, and suggest that ostracism may be a valuable addition to studies examining drinking to cope behaviors.