Is it really just one night of fun? The relationship between 21st birthday celebratory drinking and general negative consequences

Objective: The purpose of this research was to: 1. examine rates of 21st birthday drinking, 2. identify the prevalence of consequences associated with 21st birthday drinking, and 3. evaluate how 21st birthday drinking and consequences relate to drinking problems more generally. This research fills a critical gap in understanding where 21st birthday drinking falls on the spectrum of being a relatively harmless night of fun to being an important public health concern. Method: Approximately one week prior to their 21st birthday, 162 students (male 50%) completed measures of general alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems via a Web-based survey. Following their birthday, students completed measures of 21st birthday drinking and consequences. Results: Findings indicated that students consumed on average 10.14 (SD = 6.23) drinks on their birthday and 19.62 (SD = 13.87) drinks over the course of their birthday week. Birthday drinking (i.e., birthday consumption, weekly birthday consumption, and frequency of weekly birthday consumption) was associated with negative consequences experienced over the birthday week (r = .30 - .52, p < .001). Students experienced a number of negative consequences, such as throwing up, participating in drinking games, and blacking out. Hierarchical regression results indicated that 21st birthday consequences uniquely accounted for general problems above general drinking and 21st birthday drinking, t (154) = 5.05, p < .001, d = .82. Conclusions: Additional research on 21st birthday celebratory drinking is needed. Because 21st birthday consequences uniquely related to general problems, interventions targeting 21st birthday drinking may be useful in reducing general problems.