The Roles of Alcohol Use and Fear of Missing Out on Intimate Partner Violence in College Students

Persistent fear of missing out (FOMO) on rewarding social experiences is common among college students. Within romantic relationships, this social comparison and perceived exclusion may result in retaliatory aggression toward a romantic partner. Research suggests this negative outcome may be particularly likely in the presence of alcohol use as an individual-modifiable risk factor. This study aims to analyze the association between FOMO and IPV, the combined impact of FOMO, alcohol use and IPV within path analyses, and the impact of sexual minority status and gender. In a college student sample (n = 585), FOMO positively associated with alcohol use/problems (r = .12, p < .001) and psychological IPV (r = .15, p < .001). FOMO positively associated with psychological IPV (B = .03, 95% CI [.01, .05]) and physical IPV (B = .02, 95% CI [.01, .05]) through alcohol use/problems. Sexual minority students endorsed higher rates of FOMO relative to heterosexual students, while female students endorsed higher rates of FOMO and lower physical IPV. Findings support the developing research that FOMO and alcohol use are positively associated while demonstrating preliminary evidence of the relationship between FOMO and IPV. Future researchers should better define relationships between study variables in temporal designs.