Alcohol mixed with energy drinks: consumption patterns and motivations for use in U.S. college students

Cecile A Marczinski, Cecile A Marczinski

Abstract

Binge drinking in college students is widespread and known to cause significant harms and health hazards for the drinker. One factor that may be exacerbating hazardous drinking in young people is the new popular trend of consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED). However, rates of AmED use and motivations for AmED consumption in college students have not been well established. In this study, 706 undergraduate college students from a university in the United States participated in a web-based survey that queried self-reported alcohol, energy drink, and AmED use. In addition, motivations for using AmEDs were assessed. The results indicated that for all participants, 81% reported that they have tried at least one energy drink in the past and 36% reported consumption of at least one energy drink in the past 2 weeks. Alcohol consumption patterns were similar to findings from U.S. national surveys of college drinking, as 37% of respondents were classified as binge drinkers and 23% abstained from drinking. In the whole sample (including the alcohol abstainers), 44% reported trying AmED at least once and 9% reported AmED consumption at least once in the past 2 weeks. 78% of respondents agreed with the statement that AmEDs appeal to underage drinkers. When AmED users were asked about various motivations for consuming AmEDs, users reported that they consumed these beverages to get drunk and reduce sedation compared to alcohol alone. In conclusion, the consumption of AmEDs is common in U.S. college students. Motivations for using AmEDs include the reduction of the sedative effects of alcohol, an important interoceptive cue that one should stop drinking.

Keywords: alcohol; binge; college students; energy drinks; motivation for use.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mean ratings for highest agreement motivations for consuming AmEDs in regular users (n = 66). Standard errors are represented in the figure by the error bars attached to each column.

References

    1. Marczinski CA, Grant EC, Grant VJ. Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students. Nova; Hauppauge, NY, USA: 2009.
    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Office of Applied Studies; Bethesda, MD, USA: 2005.
    1. Wechsler H, Davenport A, Dowdall G, Moeykens B, Castillo S. Health and behavioral consequences of binge drinking in college. JAMA. 1994;272:1672–1677.
    1. Wechsler H, Dowdall GW, Davenport A, Castillo S. Correlates of college student binge drinking. Am. J. Public Health. 1995;85:921–926.
    1. Wechsler H, Dowdall GW, Maenner G, Geldhill-Hoyt J, Lee H. Changes in binge drinking and related problems among American college students between 1993 and 1997. J. Am. Coll. Health. 1998;47:57–68.
    1. Wechsler H, Lee JE, Kuo M, Lee H. College binge drinking in the 1990s: A continuing problem. J. Am. Coll. Health. 2000;48:199–210.
    1. Wechsler H, Lee JE, Nelson TF, Lee H. Drinking and driving among college students: The influence of alcohol-control policies. Am. J. Prev. Med. 2003;25:212–218.
    1. Naimi TS, Brewer RD, Mokdad A, Denny C, Serdula MK, Marks JS. Binge drinking among US adults. JAMA. 2003;289:70–75.
    1. Borges NJ, Hansen SL. Correlation between college students’ driving offenses and their risks for alcohol problems. J. Am. Coll. Health. 1993;42:79–81.
    1. Duncan DF. Chronic drinking, binge drinking and drunk driving. Psychol. Rep. 1997;80:681–682.
    1. Hingson R, Heeren T, Winter M, Wechsler H. Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18–24: Changes from 1998 to 2001. Annu. Rev. Public Health. 2005;26:259–279.
    1. World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol and Injury in Emergency Departments: Summary of the Report from the WHO Collaborative Study on Alcohol and Injuries. WHO; Geneva, Switzerland: 2007. Available online: (accessed on 13 October 2008)
    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2nd ed. Vol. 2 U.S. Government Printing Office; Washington, DC, USA: 2000. Goal 26–11: Reduce the proportion of persons engaging in binge drinking of alcoholic beverages.
    1. Fournier ME, Levy S. Recent trends in adolescent substance use, primary care screening, and updates in treatment options. Curr. Opin. Pediatr. 2006;18:352–358.
    1. SAMHSA . Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. SAMHSA Office of Applied Statistics; Rockville, MD, USA: 2007. Available online: (accessed on 15 October 2008)
    1. Marczinski CA, Fillmore MT. Clubgoers and their trendy cocktails: Implications of mixing caffeine into alcohol on information processing and subjective reports of intoxication. Exp. Clin. Psychopharm. 2006;14:450–458.
    1. Marczinski CA, Fillmore MT, Bardgett ME, Howard MA. Effects of energy drinks mixed with alcohol on behavioral control: Risks for college students consuming trendy cocktails. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 2011;35:1282–1292.
    1. Miller KE. Energy drinks, race, and problem behaviors among college students. J. Adolesc. Health. 2008;43:490–497.
    1. O’Brien MC, McCoy TP, Rhodes SD, Wagoner A, Wolfson M. Caffeinated cocktails: Energy drink consumption, high-risk drinking, and alcohol-related consequences among college students. Acad. Emerg. Med. 2008;15:453–460.
    1. Price SR, Hilchey CA, Darredeau C, Fulton HG, Barrett SP. Energy drink co-administration is associated with increased reported alcohol ingestion. Drug Alcohol. Rev. 2010;29:331–333.
    1. Reissig CJ, Strain EC, Griffiths RR. Caffeinated energy drinks—A growing problem. Drug Alcohol. Depend. 2009;99:1–10.
    1. Thombs DL, O’Mara RJ, Tsukamoto M, Rossheim ME, Weiler RM, Merves ML, Goldberger BA. Event-level analyses of energy drink consumption and alcohol intoxication in bar patrons. Addict. Behav. 2010;35:325–330.
    1. Howard MA, Marczinski CA. Acute effects of a glucose energy drink on behavioral control. Exp. Clin. Psychopharm. 2010;18:553–561.
    1. Seifert SM, Schaechter JL, Hershorin ER, Lipshultz SE. Health effects of energy drinks on children, adolescents, and young adults. Pediatr. 2011;127:511–528.
    1. Malinauskas BM, Aeby VG, Overton RF, Carpenter-Aeby T, Barber-Heidal K. A survey of energy drink consumption patterns among college students. Nutr. J. 2007;6:35–41.
    1. Dowdall GW. College Drinking: Reframing a Social Problem. Praeger; Westport, CT, USA: 2009.
    1. Ballistreri MC, Corradi-Webster CM. Consumption of energy drinks among physical education students. Rev. Lat. Am. Enferm. 2008;16:558–564.
    1. Attila S, Cakir B. Energy-drink consumption in college students and associated factors. Nutrition. 2011;27:316–322.
    1. Wechsler H, Wuethrich B. Dying to Drink: Confronting Binge Drinking on College Campuses. 1st ed. Rodale; Emmaus, PA, USA: 2002.
    1. Arria AM, Caldeira KM, Kasperski SJ, O’Grady KE, Vincent KB, Griffiths RR, Wish ED. Increased alcohol consumption, nonmedical prescription drug use, and illicit drug use are associated with energy drink consumption in college students. J. Addict. Med. 2010;4:74–80.
    1. Martin CS, Earleywine M, Musty RE, Perrine MW, Swift RM. Development and validation of the biphasic alcohol effects scale. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 1993;17:140–146.
    1. Marczinski CA, Fillmore MT. Acute alcohol tolerance on subjective intoxication and simulated driving performance in binge drinkers. Psychol. Addict. Behav. 2009;23:238–247.

Source: PubMed

Sponsoren und Mitarbeiter

Krankheiten

Drogeninterventionen

3
Abonnieren