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Beyond the "Binge" threshold: heavy drinking patterns and their association with alcohol involvement indices in college students.
Addict Behav. 2008 Feb; 33(2):225-34.AB

Abstract

Despite its ubiquity, the term "Binge" drinking has been controversial. Among other things, the grouping of drinkers into a single risk category based on a relatively low threshold may not capture adequately the nature of problem drinking behaviors. The present study is an initial examination of the utility of delineating heavy drinkers into three groups; those who typically drink below the traditional "Binge" cutoff (less than 4+/5+ drinks per occasion for women/men), those who met traditional "Binge" drinking criteria, and a higher "Binge" cutoff of 6+/7+ (women, men). We examined differences in drunkenness, drinking frequency, and unique types of alcohol problems. Participants (N=356; 184 women) were regularly drinking college students at a mid-sized U.S. university who completed a battery of self-report measures including a calendar of daily alcohol consumption, and the 8-domain Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ). Estimated Blood Alcohol Levels (eBALs) were calculated. We found that the standard 4+/5+ drink "Binge" cutoff distinguishes drinkers across some but not all indices of alcohol involvement. "Binge" drinkers differed from their "Non-Binge" counterparts on eBAL, but for other indicators (drinking frequency, total alcohol consequences), only "Heavy Binge" drinkers differed significantly from "Non-Binge" drinkers. Importantly, "Heavy Binge" drinkers experienced higher levels of those specific consequences associated with more problematic alcohol involvement. Findings suggest that not all "Binge" drinkers drink alike, are equally drunk, or experience similar consequences. As such, there may be utility in distinguishing among heavy drinkers, in order to focus appropriately on those at greatest risk for different types of consequences.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Read JP
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Beattie M
No affiliation info available
Chamberlain R
No affiliation info available
Merrill JE
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdolescentAdultAlcohol DrinkingAlcohol-Related DisordersAlcoholic IntoxicationAnalysis of VarianceEthanolFemaleHumansMalePsychometricsStudents

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

17997047

Citation

Read, Jennifer P., et al. "Beyond the "Binge" Threshold: Heavy Drinking Patterns and Their Association With Alcohol Involvement Indices in College Students." Addictive Behaviors, vol. 33, no. 2, 2008, pp. 225-34.
Read JP, Beattie M, Chamberlain R, et al. Beyond the "Binge" threshold: heavy drinking patterns and their association with alcohol involvement indices in college students. Addict Behav. 2008;33(2):225-34.
Read, J. P., Beattie, M., Chamberlain, R., & Merrill, J. E. (2008). Beyond the "Binge" threshold: heavy drinking patterns and their association with alcohol involvement indices in college students. Addictive Behaviors, 33(2), 225-34.
Read JP, et al. Beyond the "Binge" Threshold: Heavy Drinking Patterns and Their Association With Alcohol Involvement Indices in College Students. Addict Behav. 2008;33(2):225-34. PubMed PMID: 17997047.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Beyond the "Binge" threshold: heavy drinking patterns and their association with alcohol involvement indices in college students. AU - Read,Jennifer P, AU - Beattie,Melissa, AU - Chamberlain,Rebecca, AU - Merrill,Jennifer E, Y1 - 2007/09/08/ PY - 2007/05/02/received PY - 2007/09/04/accepted PY - 2007/11/13/pubmed PY - 2008/3/5/medline PY - 2007/11/13/entrez SP - 225 EP - 34 JF - Addictive behaviors JO - Addict Behav VL - 33 IS - 2 N2 - Despite its ubiquity, the term "Binge" drinking has been controversial. Among other things, the grouping of drinkers into a single risk category based on a relatively low threshold may not capture adequately the nature of problem drinking behaviors. The present study is an initial examination of the utility of delineating heavy drinkers into three groups; those who typically drink below the traditional "Binge" cutoff (less than 4+/5+ drinks per occasion for women/men), those who met traditional "Binge" drinking criteria, and a higher "Binge" cutoff of 6+/7+ (women, men). We examined differences in drunkenness, drinking frequency, and unique types of alcohol problems. Participants (N=356; 184 women) were regularly drinking college students at a mid-sized U.S. university who completed a battery of self-report measures including a calendar of daily alcohol consumption, and the 8-domain Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ). Estimated Blood Alcohol Levels (eBALs) were calculated. We found that the standard 4+/5+ drink "Binge" cutoff distinguishes drinkers across some but not all indices of alcohol involvement. "Binge" drinkers differed from their "Non-Binge" counterparts on eBAL, but for other indicators (drinking frequency, total alcohol consequences), only "Heavy Binge" drinkers differed significantly from "Non-Binge" drinkers. Importantly, "Heavy Binge" drinkers experienced higher levels of those specific consequences associated with more problematic alcohol involvement. Findings suggest that not all "Binge" drinkers drink alike, are equally drunk, or experience similar consequences. As such, there may be utility in distinguishing among heavy drinkers, in order to focus appropriately on those at greatest risk for different types of consequences. SN - 0306-4603 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/17997047/Beyond_the_"Binge"_threshold:_heavy_drinking_patterns_and_their_association_with_alcohol_involvement_indices_in_college_students_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -