Is Prepartying a Cause of Heavy Drinking and Consequences Rather Than Just a Correlate? A Longitudinal Look at the Relationship Between Prepartying, Alcohol Approval, and Subsequent Drinking and Consequences

Abstract

Background Prepartying, or drinking before an event where more alcohol may or may not be consumed, has been positioned in the literature as a behavior engaged in by heavy drinkers. However, recent findings suggest that prepartying may confer distinct risks, potentially causing students to become heavier drinkers over time. Objectives The goals of this study were to disentangle the longitudinal relationships between prepartying, general and episodic alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related consequences by investigating 1) whether prepartying is associated with future consequences above and beyond current alcohol consumption habits and 2) whether augmentations in approval for alcohol and related increases in drinking mediate this relationship. Methods One-hundred and ninety-five undergraduates completed online questionnaires at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months later. Results Prepartying frequency was more strongly related to alcohol-related consequences one year later than was overall or episodic drinking. Additionally, a path mediation model confirmed our hypothesis that this relationship is due to gradual increases in drinking which occur as a result of more approving attitudes toward alcohol brought on by exposure to prepartying. Conclusion/Importance Findings suggest a new model for conceptualizing the relationship between prepartying, drinking, and consequences whereby students who get involved in prepartying may witness slow increases in their approval for alcohol use and, as a result, consumption. Importantly, results suggest that the increases in drinking displayed by prepartiers over the course of a year may account for the strong relationship between prepartying and later consequences. Prevention and intervention initiatives may benefit from directly targeting prepartying as a means of tempering risky alcohol use trajectories during one’s college tenure.

Pregaming among Latina/o emerging adults: Do acculturation and gender matter?

“…Research examining pregaming behavior among emerging adults has grown considerably during the past several years (Labhart et al, 2017; Zamboanga & Olthuis, 2016), likely due to the negative consequences related to this risky drinking practice (Merrill, Vermont, Bachrach, & Read, 2013). For example, pregaming is linked to heavy, or extreme drinking (e.g., Fairlie et al, 2015; LaBrie, Earle, Hummer, & Boyle, 2016), and data indicate emerging adults who pregame engage in heavier alcohol consumption and experience greater blood alcohol levels and more intoxication than those who do not pregame (LaBrie & Pedersen, 2008; Wells et al, 2015). Higher levels of alcohol consumption that typically result from pregaming can precipitate increased risks for adverse alcohol related consequences such as assaults and blackouts among emerging adults (see Foster & Ferguson, 2014; Labrie, Hummer, Kenney, Lac, & Pedersen, 2011; Zamboanga et al, 2013).…”

“…Higher levels of alcohol consumption that typically result from pregaming can precipitate increased risks for adverse alcohol related consequences such as assaults and blackouts among emerging adults (see Foster & Ferguson, 2014; Labrie, Hummer, Kenney, Lac, & Pedersen, 2011; Zamboanga et al, 2013). Recent longitudinal findings suggest the relation between pregaming and adverse alcohol consequences may be due to increased overall alcohol consumption in addition to endorsement of positive attitudes toward drinking (LaBrie, Earle, Hummer, & Boyle, 2016). As noted by Pedersen (2016), pregaming is a risky practice both because of the behavior’s close relationship with negative alcohol consequences as well as its relationship to subsequent alcohol related cognitions and increased consumption patterns.…”

“…Literature often suggests men are more likely to engage in high risk forms of alcohol use (e.g., pregaming binge drinking, drinking games participation) than women, but also indicates this gender gap may be narrowing (e.g., Keyes, 2008; LaBrie et al, 2016; Zamboanga et al, 2014). Furthermore, studies have repeatedly found the relation between acculturation and alcohol use may vary as a function of gender (for review including college and non-college samples, see Zemore, 2007; for a review of college samples, see Zamboanga et al, 2017), although some research on acculturation and alcohol use does not investigate the moderating role of gender (e.g., Cano et al, 2015a; DeSoto et al, 2014; Despues & Friedman, 2007; Orona, Blume, Morera, & Perez, 2007).…”

An intercept study to measure the extent to which New Zealand university students pre‐game

“…breathalysers that measure Breath Alcohol Concentration [BrAC]) 12–14 . Given that more alcohol is consumed on nights when individuals pre‐game, it is unsurprising that pre‐gaming has been linked to higher levels of alcohol‐related harm 1,9,10,15–17 . For example, on nights that individuals pre‐game, they are more likely to experience a blackout 18 and get into a fight 19 …”

“…[12][13][14] Given that more alcohol is consumed on nights when individuals pre-game, it is unsurprising that pre-gaming has been linked to higher levels of alcohol-related harm. 1,9,10,[15][16][17] For example, on nights that individuals pre-game, they are more likely to experience a blackout 18 and get into a fight. 19 Relative to the large number of studies conducted on pre-gaming in the US and UK, there is little research on pre-gaming in Australia or New Zealand.…”