Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: COVID-19 forced social interactions to move online. Yet researchers have little understanding of the mental-health consequences of this shift. Given pandemic-related surges in emotional disorders and problematic drinking, it becomes imperative to understand the cognitive and affective processes involved in virtual interactions and the impact of alcohol in virtual social spaces. Participants ( N = 246) engaged in an online video call while their gaze behavior was tracked. Before the interaction, participants were randomly assigned to receive an alcoholic or control beverage. Participants’ affect was repeatedly assessed. Results indicated that a proportionally larger amount of time spent gazing at oneself (vs. one’s interaction partner) predicted significantly higher negative affect after the exchange. Furthermore, alcohol independently increased self-directed attention, failing to demonstrate its typically potent social-affective enhancement in this virtual context. Results carry potential implications for understanding factors that increase risk for hazardous drinking and negative affect in an increasingly virtual world.
Source: Clinical Psychological Science
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Towards a Wearable Alcohol Biosensor: Examining the Accuracy of BAC Estimates from New-Generation Transdermal Technology using Large-Scale Human Testing and Machine Learning Algorithms, Examining the Impact of Stress on the Emotionally Reinforcing Properties of Alcohol in Heavy Social Drinkers: A Multimodal Investigation Integrating Laboratory and Ambulatory Methods
OpenAlex ID: W4309115184