The influence of social ostracism on drinking as a social identity among women in college
Date
2013
Authors
Dickens, Danielle, author
Harman, Jennifer, advisor
Henry, Kimberly, committee member
Matheson, Jennifer, committee member
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Abstract
According to the social identity theory, social threats can lead to greater identification with one's in-group, and/or greater derogation of out-group members in order to establish or maintain self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). The purpose of the present studies is to extend the social identity theory to examine whether college women classify their drinking behaviors as a group identity (light, moderate, heavy drinker), and whether they are likely to associate with their in-group and derogate out-group members when faced with social ostracism. It is hypothesized that when threatened with social ostracism, classification (e.g., self-stereotyping) with a group (light, moderate, heavy drinker) will vary according to the status of the participant's group, with moderate drinkers being viewed as higher status due to the developmental stage and context of the population. An initial survey, followed by an experiment utilizing a social ostracism manipulation was used to test the study's hypotheses. The results indicate that classification with a drinking group is significantly associated with drinking behaviors. Participants who were socially ostracized derogated the out-group with negative stereotypes, but did not classify positively with their in-group. The hypotheses examining the relationship between drinking group and drinking behaviors and out-group and in-group derogation were supported. Implications for prevention are discussed.
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Subject
women
identity
alcohol use