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

Abstract

Pregaming is a risky drinking behavior that occurs when students drink alcohol before a primary social gathering or event. The paucity of research on pregaming highlights the need for research on the correlates of drinking behaviors, such as alcohol expectancies, that might increase the likelihood of pregaming. Thus, we sought to examine how alcohol expectancies and the valuations (i.e., desirability) of these expectancies are associated with frequency of pregaming, drinking game (DG) participation, and hazardous alcohol use. Students (N = 1327) from nine U.S. colleges and universities completed self-report surveys. Results showed sufficient discriminant validity among pregaming behaviors, DG participation, and hazardous alcohol use. Findings also revealed that pregaming mediated the associations between positive alcohol expectancies and hazardous drinking behaviors. Finally, when we tested for invariance across gender, ethnicity, and legal versus underage alcohol users, we found full invariance across gender and ethnicity, but not for legal versus underage alcohol users. Future research directions and potential implications for prevention efforts are discussed.

Alcohol Expectancies and Alcohol Outcomes: Effects of the Use of Protective Behavioral Strategies

“…Findings regarding the predictive role of negative AEs in the same populations have been less consistent. Whereas some studies have found a negative association between negative AEs and drinking (e.g., Fromme & D'Amico, 2000;Nicolai et al, 2010), others have found negative AEs to be related to problematic drinking (Zamboanga et al, 2010) or unrelated to drinking and/or problematic drinking (Neighbors et al, 2007;Zamboanga et al, 2006).…”

Profiles of College Drinkers Defined by Alcohol Behaviors at the Week Level: Replication Across Semesters and Prospective Associations With Hazardous Drinking and Dependence-Related Symptoms

“…The amount of alcohol consumed while playing drinking games predicts acute negative consequences (Borsari et al, 2013) and dependence symptoms and consequences (Zamboanga et al, 2010a(Zamboanga et al, , 2010b. Pregaming on a given night has also been associated with acute negative consequences (Labhart et al, 2013;Merrill et al, 2013).…”

The relationship between drinking games and intentions to continue drinking, intentions to drive after drinking, and adverse consequences: Results of a field study

“…Although many prevention approaches common to college campuses focus on reducing drinking to intoxication and overall alcohol consumption, controlling drinking games presents a unique challenge. At the individual level, Zamboanga et al (9) suggested expectancy challenges might be a viable option to prevent drinking game participation. Based on our study, an environmental approach might also be warranted to complement individual-level approaches.…”

“…Participation in drinking games has been correlated with an increased probability of experiencing alcohol-related problems such as hangovers, campus violations, risky sexual behavior, car accidents, interpersonal difficulties, and symptoms of alcohol dependence (1,2,(7)(8)(9)(10). Further, participation in drinking games might adversely impact lighter and moderate drinkers more than their heavy drinking counterparts (11).…”