A recent study reveals how the “wine mom” phenomenon, prevalent on social media and television, influences mothers' attitudes toward alcohol. The study found that depictions of mothers consuming alcohol as a stress reliever on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook may shape social norms around maternal alcohol consumption and encourage risky drinking behaviors. discovered.The research results were published in a magazine The psychology of popular media.
The “wine mom” phenomenon has often promoted the idea that alcohol is a necessary tool to cope with the challenges of motherhood through humorous memes, hashtags such as #winemom, or “moms drink wine and swear by” Facilitate through groups. Researchers were concerned that this social media discourse could have a negative impact on health outcomes, as increased alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing physical and mental health disorders.
“As a mother, I often see memes and discourse on social media about the need to drink alcohol to get through the challenges of motherhood. Humor is often used in the messages. “We were curious about the impact of seeing these kinds of 'wine mom' messages, and realized there was a lack of research examining this,” said study author Dr. said Emily Lorenz, a course candidate and graduate instructor at the University of Missouri. .
The study was conducted through an online experiment with 330 mothers recruited through social media and mothers' groups. Participants were randomly divided into her three groups. a “wine mom” condition (see 9 Instagram posts championing wine mom culture), a “sober mom” condition (see 9 posts promoting abstinence), and a neutral nature-themed control group. The content of motherhood.
Instagram posts are sourced using hashtags like #winemom and #sobermom, and are an even mix of text-based and image-based posts. Each participant then answered questions assessing their social comparison orientation, previous exposure to alcohol messages, drinking identity, and current norms regarding alcohol.
Researchers found that exposure to “wine mom” content on social media significantly shaped injunctive norms, mothers' perceptions of social expectations and approval regarding drinking. Mothers who regularly watched Wine Mama content before the study and then watched similar content during the experiment found that their social circles expected and approved of drinking as part of motherhood. reported strong beliefs.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that prior exposure to wine mom culture through television was associated with mothers' descriptive norms, that is, mothers' perceptions of how common drinking is among other mothers. It was also found that it had an impact on Previous exposure to wine mom messages on television was limited, and those exposed during the experiment believed that heavy drinking was not common among mothers. This suggests that without prior standardization via television, experimental exposure alone was insufficient to convince mothers that heavy drinking was a widespread norm.
On the other hand, those who are frequently exposed to wine mom content on television believe that drinking is more prevalent, demonstrating how media exposure shapes perceptions of normativity. I am.
“I think it's important, especially for mothers, to recognize that exposure to 'wine moms' on TV and social media can shape mothers' beliefs about alcohol and encourage risky drinking behaviors.” . “Creating a social media environment that promotes alcohol use can influence mothers' expectations about alcohol consumption,” Lorenz told SciPost.
“I think this is also an important lesson that healthcare professionals and support systems need to recognize more broadly, as alcohol consumption among women, including mothers, is on the rise. “It can lead to stress and resist traditional expectations of motherhood, but it can have negative effects if it promotes risky drinking behaviors such as binge drinking.''
Social comparison orientation, or the tendency to compare oneself to others, also played a role in forming normative beliefs about alcohol. Mothers who frequently made social comparisons perceived drinking to be more common among other mothers, regardless of experimental condition.
This effect is particularly pronounced in the control group, where people high in social comparison tendencies tend to assume that a behavior (such as drinking alcohol) is more common than it actually is, regardless of the specific media content they are exposed to. This suggests that there may be.
“One of the surprising findings of the study was that mothers who made more social comparisons were more likely to believe that alcohol use was more common among mothers,” Lorenz said. Stated. “This may indicate that the wine mom discourse has a powerful influence, especially for mothers who compare themselves to other mothers.”
Contrary to expectations, drinking identity, that is, the extent to which mothers viewed themselves as “drinkers,” did not significantly influence either injunctive or explanatory norms. This result suggests that alcohol use is not a central aspect of identity for many mothers, and is perhaps overshadowed by other aspects of their maternal identity. This suggests that even if the mother drinks, this behavior may not be a defining feature of the mother's identity and therefore may not have much influence on the formation of normative beliefs about maternal alcohol consumption. is shown.
“Social media algorithms curate media experiences in a personalized way, so women may or may not be exposed to Wine Mama content on social media channels,” Lorenz said. “However, people seeking or viewing this type of content should be aware that it may influence their expectations of alcohol consumption.”
The long-term goal of research in this area is to “promote positive health outcomes and focus attention on mothers' support needs beyond the alcohol solution,” Lorenz said. I would like to further investigate the role of stress in relation to wine mom messaging and alcohol use. ”
The study, “Wine Mom Culture: Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Maternal Alcohol Norms,” was authored by Emily Lorenz and Elizabeth Boehm-Moravitz.
