Subjective evaluations of alcohol expectancies and their relevance to drinking game involvement in female college students

Alcohol Expectancies, Pregaming, Drinking Games, and Hazardous Alcohol Use in a Multiethnic Sample of College Students

“…Therefore, students who expect positive effects from drinking (e.g., it would be easier to talk with people) are more likely to pregame and play DG. Such findings are consistent with expectancy theory and with prior studies conducted with college students (e.g., Johnson et al 1998;Nagoshi et al 1994;Zamboanga et al 2005). In addition, we were able to test and dismiss a model positing DG participation as the mediating variable-suggesting that pregaming, as opposed to partaking in DG, is more likely to mediate the associations between positive alcohol expectancy outcomes and hazardous drinking behaviors.…”

“…DG participation has been well documented on college campuses; there are as many as 500 different DG, all having the common goal of getting participants intoxicated (see Borsari 2004, for a review). Between 50 and 62% of college students report having played DG in the past month, and participation in DG is consistently associated with greater frequency and quantity of drinking as well as alcohol-related problems (e.g., Adams and Nagoshi 1999;Engs and Hanson 1993;Nagoshi et al 1994;Zamboanga et al 2005Zamboanga et al , 2006. Whereas pregaming occurs exclusively at the beginning of a drinking event (e.g., prior to another destination), DG can be played at any time during a drinking episode.…”

“…One explanation is that expectancy outcomes that researchers assume are ''negative'' are sometimes viewed favorably by individuals (e.g., cognitive and behavioral impairment; Zamboanga et al 2005). As such, researchers should measure, rather than assume, an individual's valuations of drinking expectancies (Valdivia and Stewart 2005).…”

Preventing underage alcohol use: Where do we go from here?

“…Four of the studies in this issue of the Journal point to the role of individual differences on underage drinking [12][13][14][15]. Tschann et al [12] demonstrate a link between greater emotional distress and alcohol use, which in turn predicts involvement in peer violence.…”

“…The data provided by Olds et al suggest the need to focus prevention and intervention curricula on close friends and siblings rather than general normative beliefs. In a key population of underage drinkers, Zamboanga et al [15] show that college student expectancies about drinking and perceived acceptability and prevalence of alcohol consumption among peers are factors associated with involvement in drinking games. The IOM report acknowledged the need to focus on the critical population of college students and the role of peer groups and college culture on underage drinking, recommending a comprehensive prevention and intervention strategy to reduce alcohol use on college campuses.…”