How do college students subjectively evaluate “blackouts”?

Merrill, Jennifer E.; Miller, Mary Beth; DiBello, Angelo M.; Singh, Samyukta; Carey, Kate B.

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.09.022

Cited by 15 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…It is possible that these effects, or the other consequences demonstrated to cooccur with blackouts in this study (embarrassment, hangover), are mechanisms that help to explain effects of blackouts on both mood and event evaluations. Indeed, a prior qualitative study revealed that blackouts themselves are rated more negatively when they are accompanied by other negative consequences (Merrill et al., ); the same may be true for the overall drinking event.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Event‐Level Correlates of Drinking Events Characterized by Alcohol‐Induced Blackouts

Merrill

Boyle

Jackson

et al. 2019

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

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Background: Prior research identifies a range of potential predictors of blackouts and suggests that blackouts increase risk for additional negative consequences. However, these studies are based on epidemiological work that allows us to draw conclusions about groups of people but not within-person processes. The present study examined within-person, event-level correlates of blackouts.Methods: Ninety-six heavy drinking college students (52% female) completed 28 days of daily reports of alcohol use and consequences, including blackouts. Thirty-three participants reported 56 blackouts. Hierarchical linear modeling compared morning reports of drinking events on which participants did versus did not report a blackout, controlling for total drinks at the event.Results: Blackout likelihood increased as a function of total drinks consumed and of crossing thresholds for heavy episodic drinking (4+/5+ drinks for women/men) and high-intensity drinking (8+/ 10+). Participants reported a higher total number of additional negative consequences on blackout events. Specific consequences that were more likely included embarrassing oneself and hangover. Blackouts were associated with morning ratings of less positive mood and a less favorable drinking event.Motives for drinking and simultaneous use of marijuana were not associated with blackouts.Conclusions: Event-level findings of this study document that events leading to alcohol-induced memory loss are associated with other adverse experiences relative to drinking events that do not result in blackout, and offer potentially motivational levers for preventive interventions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Event‐Level Correlates of Drinking Events Characterized by Alcohol‐Induced Blackouts

Merrill

Boyle

Jackson

et al. 2019

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

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“…Prior work shows some undergraduates positively evaluate risky alcohol effects like cognitive impairments which could help explain why some CWDM drinkers might seek out blackout effects from alcohol (see also Ref. ). Having a positive view alcohol‐induced cognitive problems, a phenomenon typically experienced as aversive for drinkers , might constitute one of the characteristics that differentiate CWDM from other drinkers and might contribute to the established riskiness of this drinking motive .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mentions of context alone without mention of effects on mood were not included in the final analysis given the focus of our study; however, mentions of context along with an impact on mood, cognitions, or behaviours were captured in our codes. Past experimental work about the impact of drinking context on alcohol ' s effects suggests that engaging in a distracting task might interact with alcohol to enhance its beneficial effects on mood . Future qualitative studies could contribute further to hypothesis‐generation about the impact of context on alcohol ' s effects on depression by asking about context for every story.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative study of the perceived effects of alcohol on depressive symptoms among undergraduates who drink to cope with depression

Couture

Pearson

Halloran

et al. 2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Introduction and Aims. Heavy drinking is prevalent among undergraduate students and is linked with drinking to cope with depression motives for drinking. Drinking to cope with depression remains poorly understood given that alcohol has been shown to have adverse effects on mood when consumed at high doses. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, the present study examined the perceived effects of alcohol on depressive symptoms as reported by undergraduate students who endorse high levels of drinking to cope with depression. Design and Methods. Sixteen undergraduate coping-with-depression-motivated (CWDM) drinkers (nine women, seven men), identified using the Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised [1], reported on their experiences of drinking to cope with depression. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes and subthemes in the data. Results. Undergraduate students reported several effects of alcohol on affective, cognitive and behavioural depressive symptoms. While most of the perceived alcohol effects they described involved relief from depressive symptoms, some perceived effects involved worsening depressive symptoms. Discussion and Conclusions. The study generated several hypotheses to explain drinking to cope with depression, some of which might be testable in future experimental work. Overall, findings suggest the mood-altering effects of alcohol do not fully explain why depression and alcohol use are frequently co-morbid. Indeed, effects of alcohol on cognitive and behavioural depressive symptoms might be particularly reinforcing for CWDM drinkers. Interventions that target co-morbid depression and alcohol use might be improved by teaching CWDM drinkers skills to reduce depressive cognitions and to improve interpersonal interactions outside of drinking contexts. [Couture M-E , Pearson R, Halloran J, Stewart SH. A qualitative study of the perceived effects of alcohol on depressive symptoms among undergraduates who drink to cope with depression. Drug Alcohol Rev 2020;39: [180][181][182][183][184][185][186][187][188]

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“…Although some drinkers assert that blackouts occur unintentionally (e.g., Wombacher et al, 2019), the current findings suggest that at least some drinkers can articulate intentions that translate into behavior. Our own qualitative research reveals that drinkers who experience blackouts endorse nuanced evaluations of the experience; while most report blackouts to be negative experiences, some describe them using neutral or even positive terms (Merrill et al, 2019). More specifically, this prior study showed that how a blackout is viewed may depend on the context in which it is experienced, with less negative evaluations reported when blackouts were expected to occur, and were experienced among familiar friends and/or in familiar locations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

A Test of the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Prediction of Alcohol‐Induced Blackout Intention and Frequency

DiBello

Miller

Merrill

et al. 2019

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

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Background: This study examined the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as an explanatory model for alcohol-induced blackouts among college students. Blackouts are periods of time wherein individuals continue to function and engage in their social environment but do not remember it as a result of consuming large quantities of alcohol. Social cognitive factors posited within TPB, such as perceived norms and personal attitudes toward alcohol consumption, are reliable predictors of alcohol use and related problems. However, research to date has not examined these theoretical antecedents as predictors of alcohol-induced blackout.Methods: College students with a history of blackout (N=384) completed a baseline survey, and a subsample (N=120) completed a 1-month follow-up survey. Negative binomial mediation models were used to evaluate intentions to blackout as a mediator of the norms, attitudes, and selfefficacy to avoid blackout-blackout frequency association at baseline and 1-month follow up.Results: Norms, attitudes, and self-efficacy to avoid blackout all significantly predicted blackout intentions at baseline, which in turn predicted more frequent blackouts both at baseline and 1month follow-up. Notably, blackout attitudes demonstrated both direct and indirect associations with blackout frequency. Conclusions:Prospective analyses provided partial support for the TPB, with only attitudes and intentions demonstrating prospective associations with actual blackout frequency. Given the particularly strong association between blackout attitudes and frequency of blackouts, attitudes may represent an important and novel target for prevention and intervention efforts.

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How do college students subjectively evaluate “blackouts”?

Cited by 15 publications

References 15 publications

Event‐Level Correlates of Drinking Events Characterized by Alcohol‐Induced Blackouts

Event‐Level Correlates of Drinking Events Characterized by Alcohol‐Induced Blackouts

A qualitative study of the perceived effects of alcohol on depressive symptoms among undergraduates who drink to cope with depression

A Test of the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Prediction of Alcohol‐Induced Blackout Intention and Frequency

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