Social Drinking and Addiction: A Social-Cognitive Model for Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder Risk

Scientists have long focused on intrapersonal factors and solitary drinking settings in researching addiction etiology. Yet evidence has accumulated to indicate a key role for social contexts in the development of alcohol use disorder. Here we review four core characteristics of social drinking contexts that are relevant for understanding disordered drinking: prevalence, developmental timing, negative consequences, and reward value. We present a social-cognitive model aimed at elucidating reinforcement from alcohol in social contexts and propose a role for alcohol in inhibiting higher order cognitive processes that otherwise dampen the experience of social rewards. We also review a series of empirical studies that provide evidence for the role of social contexts in the development of alcohol use disorder, highlighting methodological challenges and indicating directions for future research.