A new study finds young adults who are interested in casual dating drink more alcohol than their peers who aren’t interested in dating, HealthDay reports.

Researchers at Washington State University studied more than 700 single young adults ages 18 to 25, who filled out surveys monthly for two years. They were separated into two groups: casually dating and not interested in dating.

The study found when young adults are more interested in casually dating, they tend to drink more alcohol. Young adults who are not interested in dating had significantly lower alcohol use, the researchers reported in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.

“Young adults shift so much in terms of social relationships that having this monthly data really allowed us to hone in on nuances and see these changes in alcohol use depending on social situations,” lead researcher Jennifer Duckworth said in a news release. “The idea is to understand whether young adults may be viewing alcohol as a way to facilitate relationships. They may think of alcohol as a way to make hanging out easier or more fun.”