Citation/Abstract

The present study explored the relationship between social exclusion and alcohol use as a coping strategy for dealing with an aversive incident. Data was collected via an online mass survey, an online prescreening survey and a laboratory session (n=52). In the laboratory session participants were randomly selected to be included or excluded via the Cyberball game, and then were given a questionnaire assessing their response to the game, as well given alcoholic beverages to sample. A 2 (condition) X 2 (coping motives) X 2 (gender) ANOVA was conducted to assess possible main effects and interactions between the factors on the amount of alcohol consumed, and no significant differences were observed. Explanations for these null findings, and future directions are included.