Prevalence, social contexts, and risks for prepartying among ethnically diverse college students

Abstract

Prepartying, also known as pre-gaming, has emerged as a high-risk drinking event among U.S. college students. Research on factors related to prepartying behavior is in its relative infancy. The present study provides prevalence rates for prepartying across ethnic groups and examines how social context (whether prepartying took place with primarily male, female, or coed groups) and demographic factors may influence prepartying behavior. Participants were students from two West Coast universities (N = 2,546) whom identified as White, Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA), Hispanic/Latino(a), or African American. The percentage of students who reported prepartying at least once in the past month, as well as the frequency and number of drinks consumed for prepartying occasions, varied by ethnic group and sex. A greater proportion of White students (60%) reported prepartying than Hispanic/Latino(a) (52%), African American (44%), and APIA (37%) students, though Hispanic/Latino(a) students who prepartied did so as often and consumed similar amounts of alcohol as White prepartiers. Across all ethnic groups, females who reported prepartying in coed groups consumed significantly more drinks than those who prepartied in primarily female groups. Finally, prepartiers within all ethnic groups consumed more drinks per week and experienced a higher number of alcohol-related consequences than non-prepartiers. The results suggest that future research and prevention programs should target prepartying and other high-risk events in at-risk students of ethnically diverse backgrounds and also consider the effects of gender in prepartying contexts on alcohol use.

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

“…Drinker statuses were replicated here, suggesting that the types of drinking weeks that students may experience were consistent, even though prevalence rates varied across semesters (e.g., weekday drinking). Prevalence rates of HED and pregaming were similar across semesters and comparable to those reported by Johnston et al (2014) and Paves et al (2012), respectively. Among drinkers, prevalence rates of drinking game participation varied across semesters, although rates were generally comparable to those reported using 30-day timeframes (Zamboanga et al, 2014).…”

“…Third, data were collected from an ethnically diverse sample of college students at a single campus, and observed proportions on alcohol behaviors and prevalence estimates of the drinker statuses may not generalize. Samples with more White students may observe higher rates of alcohol behaviors, including pregaming (O'Malley & Johnston, 2002;Paves et al, 2012). Although results are mixed, pregaming may be more prevalent among underage students because, for them, obtaining alcohol at on-premise establishments such as bars may be more diffi cult (Foster & Ferguson, 2014).…”

“…In addition to week-level indicators on HED, getting drunk, and number of drinking days, we included (a) drinking games and pregaming, which are associated with negative consequences (Foster & Ferguson, 2014;LaBrie et al, 2013;Paves et al, 2012;Zamboanga et al, 2014); (b) estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC), an estimate of peak intoxication level; and (c) day of the week drinking occurred (weekday, Thursday, Friday/Saturday). Because of its lower prevalence (Hoeppner et al, 2012;Wood et al, 2007), college student drinking on weekdays or Thursdays may be a defi ning feature of drinker status.…”

“Excessive Drinking—An Inescapable Part of University Life?” A Focus Group Study of Australian Undergraduates

“…Alternatively, heavy drinking in co-ed contexts may be used as a way to facilitate socialization and "break down barriers" with the opposite sex [78]. Females on the other hand have been shown to report higher alcohol intake in mixed gender contexts than with female peers alone [79]. Attempts to explain this association highlight several potential influences, including drinking to match perceptions of what males want them to drink [69] [80], desires to gain sexual appeal and a special position among male drinkers [69] [80] or encouragement by males who are seeking sexual encounters [78] [81].…”

De fiesta antes de la fiesta: relación entre esta práctica de consumo de alcohol con los problemas derivados del uso de alcohol en jóvenes argentinos

“…En el evento posterior se podrá, o no, consumir cantidades adicionales de alcohol. El prepartying es una práctica de alta prevalencia entre adolescentes (Kenney et al, 2010;Zamboanga et al, 2011) y jóvenes (Paves, Pedersen, Hummer, & Labrie, 2012;Rutledge et al, 2016) de Estados Unidos, y en la misma se consumen elevadas cantidades de alcohol en un período corto de tiempo (Bachrach, Merrill, Bytschkow, & Read, 2012;Haas, Smith, Kagan, & Jacob, 2012;LaBrie, Hummer, Pedersen, Lac, & Chithambo, 2012). Haas et al (2012) encontraron que el 65% de una muestra de adolescentes, en la transición entre el nivel medio y la universidad, había realizado este tipo de práctica consumiendo, en promedio, tres unidades de alcohol (1 unidad ≈ 14 gramos) en 27 minutos o menos.…”