New Study Confirms - People Who Drink The Most Have The Most Friends

Titled Drinking to Reach the Top, the analysis shows that men and women who engage in more frequent heavy drinking occupy higher statuses within their friend groups. Set to be to be published in the October issue of Addictive Behaviors, it provides hard data to support what shows like Mad Men preach: Alcohol is a high achiever’s secret weapon.

Dr. Tara Dumas conducted a study among young adults. The study concentrated on how much each individual had to drink and how each individual was viewed by his or her friends. The results are nothing new to us.

“Research already demonstrates that young people use alcohol for social means…as a way of fitting in,” Dumas tells The Daily Beast. “Our research further suggests that young people might be gaining social status benefits via their heavy drinking, or that higher social status might encourage riskier drinking practices among young people.”

The results are an important indicator of how heavier drinkers are viewed in society. “Our measure of social status in this study is somewhat akin to social power within the friend group, with higher status group members being more popular and having more control over valuable group resources, such as group decisions,” 



“Binge drinking then becomes associated with high status and the ‘cool’ students on campus”, said Carolyn L. Hsu, co-author of the study.

Rather than a how-to for winning social clout, Dumas hopes her study sheds light on how deep our alcohol-worshipping runs, and how potentially dangerous that is to society.

well I wouldn't imagine that's going to happen any time soon...

via Total Frat Move & The Daily Beast