Alcohol is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the United States today, despite being associated with a myriad of negative effects. Alcohol consumption occurs most frequently within social contexts, and seems to be strongly related to many social factors. It is known that an individual's expectations of the effects of alcohol influences his/her drinking behavior, and that social alcohol expectancies are some of the most frequently reported expectancies. In this study, we explored the relationship between alcohol expectancies and social influences by examining whether exposure to a social context would differentially activate alcohol expectancies. 115 young-adult male participants were exposed to either a social context or a control condition. Subsequently, participants' alcohol expectancies were assessed using both explicit and implicit measurements. Differences between conditions were found on the implicit expectancy measure (a free association task) but not on the explicit expectancy measures. Results from the free association task indicated that participants who were exposed to a social context were more likely to report positive and arousing words in response to the prompt "alcohol makes me _______". These differences suggest that exposure to a social context may not overtly change individuals' alcohol expectancies, but may increase the availability of positive and arousing alcohol expectancies. This increase in availability of positive and arousing expectancies may explain one of the mechanisms involved in deciding to engage in social drinking.

The presence of siblings during childhood and adolescence has a significant impact on the behaviors and perceptions of adults later in life. Effects of mixed-gendered sibling dyads on delinquent behavior, gender typing, and romantic and sexual relationships are of interest. These behaviors can lead to notable health disparities, making it imperative to gain insight into factors associated with such behaviors in young adult and adolescent males. This project explored possible correlations between gender composition of siblings and health behavior indicators for violence, competition and risk, and sexual and romantic relationships. Analysis of these variables was performed using data from the Young Adult and Adolescent Male Health Behavior Indicator Scale [YAAMHBIS]. Descriptive analyses showed YAAM understanding of abuse and successful marriage and relationship qualities, as well as a conditional acceptance of violence, competition, and risk. Means testing between those with and without sisters indicated that those with sisters acknowledged abuse, marriage qualities, and the consequences of infidelity. Additionally, those with sisters had, on average, an earlier age of sexual debut than those without supporting previous research regarding the effects of female communication in childhood on adult interactions. The correlations found between sibling gender and YAAM perceptions later in life could lay the groundwork for future studies further investigating sibling gender or split households and an association with health behaviors.