A new study examined the concept of extreme drinking in college students, and whether certain behaviors such as “pre-partying” or drinking games influence how extreme the drinking actually gets.
Many of us know that a lot of alcohol is consumed during college, and is often the first time adult children have been away from the protective eyes of their parents.
A new study out of Penn State University, the #9 Party School in the US in 2014 and moving up to #7 in 2015 according to the Princeton Review, looked at whether extreme drinking was more likely on days
Photo by Smedpull (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonswhen the students reported pre-partying or playing drinking games.
A couple of definitions in case it’s been too long since your college experience:
Pre-partying: a.k.a. “pre-gaming” – Constitutes drinking prior to leaving the dorms and going out to the bars or other parties.
Extreme drinking – According to this study extreme drinking involves drinking so much that BAC levels were 0.16% or greater, enough alcohol was consumed to result in stumbling, or the individual drank enough to pass out (or in the case of the image above, blacking out in a dog crate with a 40 strapped to your hands).
400 college seniors that were at the legal drinking age (21) were observed in this study. 4 different extreme drinking outcomes were measured: 1) drinking at least 8 drinks for women and 10 drinks for men; 2) BAC of at least 0.16; 3) stumbling; and 4) passing out.
One problem with studies using self-reporting methods is that there is often a sense of under-reporting when it comes to how much people will admit that they drink.
This is a common issue with self-reporting type studies, and it is assumed that all individuals under-report by the same amount.
To confirm or refute this assumption, a group of Canadian
Photo by Bill Branson (Photographer) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonsresearchers aimed to determine whether or not under-reporting is equal among groups, or if there are differences when it comes to age, gender, or consumption levels.
Surveying Canadian citizens between 2008 and 2010 (43,371 participants total), the researchers determined drinking frequencies for each participant and compared these data to actual sales data.
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