Kingston - Psychology professor Tom Hollenstein has co-authored a study showing that exposure to alcohol in movies and commercials may increase the amount that people drink.

The study was conducted with a team from Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands) and Dr. Hollenstein was involved in designing its methodology.

Eighty men between the ages of 18 and 29, recruited from the university campus, were paired, and watched a one-hour movie clip with two commercial breaks. The lab was a naturalistic “home cinema,” complete with comfortable couches, a large screen TV, and a fridge containing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups and watched either American Pie 2 showing frequent alcohol consumption, and commercials that included advertisements for alcohol; the same movie, but with neutral commercials; 40 Days and 40 Nights in which alcohol was much less prominent, with commercials breaks that included alcohol ads or 40 Days and 40 Nights, with neutral commercials.

The study showed significant differences in alcohol consumption between the groups. Those participants watching the movie and commercials where alcohol played a prominent role drank on average 1.5 bottles of alcohol more than other participants.

The findings may have significant implications for what kind of policy. The report concludes that "although we obviously do not argue for the ban of alcohol portrayals in movies ... it might be an idea to explicitly warn people, and especially parents, that A) movies contain alcohol portrayals and B) these alcohol portrayals affect drinking directly.”