Citation

Zamboanga BL, Pesigan IJ, Tomaso CC, Schwartz SJ, Ham LS, Bersamin M, Kim SY, Cano MA, Castillo LG, Forthun LF, Whitbourne SK, Hurley EA. Addict. Behav. 2014; 41C: 112-116.

Affiliation

Pomona College, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.10.002

PMID

25452053

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: A drinking game (DG) is a high-risk, social drinking activity that consists of certain rules (i.e., when to drink and how much to consume) designed to promote inebriation and that requires each player to perform a cognitive and/or motor task (Zamboanga et al., 2013). Research suggests that non-White or female students who play DGs are at an increased risk of experiencing alcohol-related problems. Thus, this study examined whether the associations between DG participation and alcohol-related problems were similar for men and women and across ethnic groups.

METHOD: College students (N=7409; 73% women; 64% White, 8% Black, 14% Hispanic, 14% Asian) from 30 U.S. colleges/universities completed self-report questionnaires.

RESULTS: Controlling for age, site, Greek membership (i.e., membership in a fraternity or sorority), and typical alcohol consumption, results indicated that the association between DG participation and alcohol-related problems was stronger for men compared to women. With respect to ethnicity, the association between these variables was stronger among Black women than Black men.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this large-scale study highlight the need to closely investigate how gender and ethnicity moderate the associations between DG participation and alcohol-related problems. College intervention efforts designed to address high-risk drinking behaviors such as DG participation might consider paying close attention to ethnic minority populations, perhaps particularly Black women.

Language: en