Drinking before drinking: Pregaming and drinking games in mandated students

Abstract

Pregaming, the practice of consuming alcohol before attending a social function, has not received as much research attention as drinking games among college students. This study investigated the prevalence of both pregaming and drinking game participation in a sample of mandated students (N=334) who had been referred for an alcohol violation. Approximately one-third (31%) of the sample reported pregaming on the night of their referral event. Pregaming was associated with higher estimated blood alcohol content on that night, along with a greater history of pregaming and taking greater responsibility for the incident. A higher proportion of the students (49%) reported playing drinking games on the event night and reported the event to be less aversive than non-players. Neither drinking games nor pregaming was consistently related to recent alcohol consumption or problems, nor did they frequently occur together on the event night. Pregaming was a unique predictor of intoxication on the night of the referral, and drinking games were not. Therefore, pregaming and drinking games appear to be distinct activities. This research suggests methods of prevention for both activities as well as promising research directions for future research.

Daily College Student Drinking Patterns Across the First Year of College

“…Specifi cally, risk behaviors including pregaming (Borsari et al, 2007a;LaBrie and Pedersen, 2008;Pedersen and LaBrie, 2007;Read et al, 2010) and drinking games (Borsari et al, 2003) are predictive of specifi c (heavy use per occasion) drinking patterns, as are drinking intentions (Reed et al, 2011). Specifi c use patterns may also predict different acute consequences of alcohol misuse (Perkins, 2002), such as college sanctions or medical treatment (Hoover, 2003).…”

Examining the Unique Influence of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Drinking Perceptions on Alcohol Consumption Among College Students

“…Some interventions focus solely on interpersonal information by trying to correct misperceptions about descriptive norms (Nye et al, 1999), whereas others also incorporate intrapersonal perceptions of alcohol consumption (e.g., BASICS [Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students]: Carey et al, 2006;Dimeff et al, 1999). Examples of intrapersonal perceptions of alcohol consumption include factors such as how much alcohol an individual thinks he or she can consume before becoming intoxicated (Mallett et al, 2006;Turrisi and Wiersma, 1999), an individual's attitude toward drinking (Turrisi et al, 2000), and intentions about drinking (e.g., some individuals may intend to drink lightly, whereas others may intentionally drink to the point of intoxication; Borsari et al, 2007). These intrapersonal perceptions may consequently perpetuate a continued cycle of risky drinking.…”

De fiesta antes de la fiesta: relación entre esta práctica de consumo de alcohol con los problemas derivados del uso de alcohol en jóvenes argentinos

“…Unidos (Borsari et al, 2007;Merrill et al, 2013). La frecuencia de asistencia y el consumo de alcohol durante la previa se asociaron positiva y significativamente a un mayor consumo de alcohol y a una mayor cantidad de consecuencias negativas derivadas del uso de alcohol.…”

“…En este marco, no sorprende que esta práctica de consumo sea un importante predictor del consumo hasta la ebriedad (Borsari et al, 2007;Miller, Borsari, Fernandez, Yurasek, & Hustad, 2016) …”