Prevalence, Correlates, and Consequences of Drinking to Get Drunk among Predominantly Freshman College Students

Objectives: To determine how many students intentionally drink to get drunk and the correlates and consequences of this behavior.

Methods: Students (n=1296) living in predominantly freshmen dormitories at a large, public, Mid-Atlantic university were invited to complete a web-based survey and 551 responded. The 333 (60.4%) who reported drinking alcohol during the previous 30 days were asked how often they drank to get drunk during the semester (responses dichotomized to “never” and “ever”). Summative scales around various constructs were created: consequences (18 items, alpha=.87); self-efficacy to drink moderately (10 items, alpha=.89); dormitory wing norms (5 items, alpha=.69); wing acceptability of drinking (8 items, alpha=.88); attachment to wing-mates (6 items, alpha=.91); Resident Assistants' attitudes toward drinking (5 items, alpha=.74). Whether drinking to get drunk was associated with the constructs above after controlling for student demographics was examined with logistic regression.

Results: Drinking to get drunk was frequently reported (77.0%) and associated with negative consequences (O.R.=1.2, 95% C.I.=1.0-1.4), decreased self-efficacy to drink moderately (O.R.=0.89, 95% C.I. .81-.98), drinking as part of a drinking game (O.R.=2.8, 95% C.I. 1.1-7.3), binge-drinking (O.R.=3.9, 95% C.I. 1.5-10.1), drinking before going to a party or bar (O.R.=4.0, 95% CI 1.6-9.8), and drinking during the weekend (O.R.=5.4, 95% CI 1.5-18.9).

Conclusion: Students in predominantly freshmen dormitories often intend to get drunk, and this intention is associated with specific types of drinking behaviors, lower self-efficacy to drink moderately, and negative consequences. A better understanding of the motivation to get drunk could lead to more effective college risk reduction programs.