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Drinking Buddies

Alcohol is frequently portrayed to be a huge part of the college experience. College parties with alcohol are on many tv shows and is the focus of some movies such as American Pie amongst others. Popular culture often ties college and drinking but just how connected are they? A study by Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a Harvard professor of medical sociology, shows that people are much more likely to drink if their friends do. The study shows that one is 50% more likely to drink if one of their friends or relatives drink heavily, 36% more likely to drink if a friend of a friend drinks heavily, and 15% more likely if a friend of a friend of a friend drinks heavily. This study also shows that one is 70% more likely to drink if surrounded by heavy drinkers and one is 50% more likely to abstain from alcohol if surrounded by non-drinkers. The effects of one person drinking more regularly can be seen through 3 degrees of separation, but no further. This is an interesting study given the context of material studied in class thus far.

This study is an interesting application of Mark Granovetter’s work on the strength of weak ties. Granovetter’s original study was asking people how they found out about their new jobs, but in this sense it can be applied to how people acquired their drinking habits. If one node begins to drink heavily then other nodes connected by an edge are 50% more likely to drink. Nodes connected to the drinking node by another node are also 36% more likely to drink. Given what we know about triadic closure if the drinking and non drinking node share strong ties with the middle node then they will form a weak tie making everyone in the group more likely to drink. This can be particularly prevalent in college because many people drink increasing the rate and scope that drinking can permeate through a network. Since colleges have a fairly intertwined network it is much more feasible for one to become surrounded by heavy drinkers. Though whether to drink or abstain is a personal decision, research shows that it is a decision heavily influenced by social networks.

DC

article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/06/drinking.alcohol.family.friends/index.html

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