We drink more when friends are around

Melbourne: Drinking with mates can push young adults into drinking more, a study from Queensland University of Technology in Australia confirms.

"We found that when friends drink together their alcohol consumption can increase with four main factors being responsible," said Ryan McAndrew from AQUT's Business School. "When friends drink socially, whether they know it or not, they drink more because they are mimicking their friends, they are conforming to their friends, they are winding down with their friends and they are enjoying the company of drinking with their friends," McAndrew said. He said the strongest predictor of alcohol consumption was copying or mimicking behaviour, followed by the desire to wind down then enjoyment and conformity. The study, which involved more than 250 drinkers aged 18-30, also fo...