Correlates of alcohol consumption on heavy drinking occasions of young risky drinkers : event versus personal characteristics

• Aims Risky single-occasion drinking (RSOD) by young people is a serious public health issue, yet little is known about the specific circumstances of risky drinking occasions. This study examined the independent effects of event- and individual-specific variables on RSOD. Design Longitudinal cohort study measuring self-reported RSOD and event- and individual-specific variables across two drinking occasions approximately 1 year apart. Setting Metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Participants A sample of 710 young risky drinkers aged between 18 and 25years and defined as engaging in risky drinking practices (males: consumed alcohol in excess of 10 Australian Standard Drinks (ASD: 10g ethanol) in a single occasion in the previous year; females: consumed alcohol in excess of seven ASD for females in a single occasion in the previous year). Measurements Random digit-dial telephone landline survey of the most recent heavy drinking occasion and socio-demographic variables. The primary outcome was the log of the total drinks consumed in the most recent heavy drinking occasion. Event-specific (e.g. number of drinking locations) and time-varying (e.g. weekly income) and time-invariant (e.g. sex) individual-specific variables were examined as correlates of total drinks consumed. Findings Changes in event-specific characteristics including the length of the drinking occasion (Likelihood Ratio (2)(2)=24.4, P<0.001), the number of drinking locations (Wald (2)((1))=7.6, P=0.006) and the number of different drink types (Wald (2)((1))=13.6, P<0.001) were associated with increases in total drinks consumed, after adjustment for time-invariant and time-variant individual-specific variables such as gender, income level and weekly consumption. Few other effects were noted. Conclusions Event-specific characteristics are important predictors of the number of drinks consumed during risky single occasion drinking (RSOD) and illustrate the importance of event contexts when considering interventions targeting RSOD. The total number of drinks consumed in a RSOD session appears to rise independently with the duration of the drinking event, the number of drinking locations and the number of different types of beverage consumed.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Beroendelära (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Substance Abuse (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Psykiatri (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Psychiatry (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Alcohol

binge drinking

drinking

event-level analysis

longitudinal study

risky drinking events

young people

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)