High-intensity drinking among adolescent and emerging adult risky drinkers

Abstract

Background: High-intensity drinking (HID; 8+ U.S. standard drinks for women, 10+ men) is initiated during adolescence/emerging adulthood, increasing risk for negative outcomes, including blackouts. We examined baseline data from a study of risky drinking youth to identify factors associated with HID. Methods: Risky drinkers (ages 16-24) were recruited online (positive 3-month AUDIT-C score) as part of a larger study to examine social media interventions for risky drinking. We used baseline survey data to examine HID in relation to demographics, substance use-related variables, and individual and social factors. Results: Among 931 risky drinkers, 29.8% reported past-month HID, and those with HID reported greater substance use and consequences. In multivariable analysis, HID was associated with male sex; greater social motives, impulsivity, and motivation; lower self-efficacy; and greater likelihood of not living with parents, drinking with important peers, and parental disapproval of posting drinking pictures. When examining age group interactions (16-20; 21-24), underage drinkers with high sensation-seeking scores and lower parental disapproval of posting drinking pictures on social media reported greater HID. Conclusions: Among risky drinking youth, male sex, social motives, impulsivity, higher motivation to and lower-self-efficacy to reduce drinking, living away from parents, more frequent drinking with important peers, and lower parental disapproval of posting drinking pictures on social media were positively associated with HID. Further, HID was associated with greater health consequences, underscoring the need for HID interventions. Such interventions may benefit from enhancing motivation and self-efficacy, particularly in social contexts, as well as increasing positive peer and leisure activities to reduce HID.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02809586.

Keywords: High-intensity drinking; adolescents; emerging adults; prevention.

Conflict of interest statement

COIs: The authors do not have any personal financial interests related to the subject matters discussed in this manuscript, with 2 exceptions. MW is a minor shareholder in Facebook and has a conflict of interest plan approved by the University of Michigan. SY has received an unrestricted gift from Facebook, on file with the University of California, Los Angeles (his prior academic appointment).

Figures

Figure 1.

Interaction between age group and sensation seeking for HID.

Figure 2.

Interaction of age group by parental disapproval of posting drinking pictures online for HID.