Search

Background: Alcohol consumption and related consequences is a problem on many college campuses. Tailgating parties before college sporting events may be contributing, however, little recent research has investigated alcohol consumption at these events., Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the drinking behaviors of college game day tailgate attendees and subsequent alcohol-related consequences., Methods: Participants (N = 89; 44.9% female) were recruited from tailgates at a university in the Midwest United States on college football game days during fall 2014. Participants provided a breath sample, completed a questionnaire, and were given the opportunity to participate in a follow-up survey (n = 62) to assess resulting alcohol-related consequences., Results: Over half of participants had BrACs greater than 0.000. However, one in three participants reported intentions to abstain from alcohol or to drink but not enough to get buzzed. Intoxication intentions were a significant and unique predictor of alcohol consumption and experience with alcohol-related consequences at follow-up. Conclusions/Importance: This study updates and extends the literature on alcohol-related consequences in the context of college football tailgates. The results suggest that consequences may be prevented through changes in intentions to become intoxicated.

College students in the U.S. continue to drink in hazardous ways and experience a range of alcohol-related consequences. Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs), which often include normative components comparing personal drinking to that of similar peers, have been effective in reducing alcohol outcomes among college students. Though normative perceptions of the quantity and frequency of alcohol use have been examined in many studies, norms for alcohol-related consequences have received less attention. The current study examined self-other discrepancies (SODs) for alcohol-related consequences among college students. Participants overestimated how often alcohol-related consequences are experienced by other same-sex students on campus and rated consequences as more acceptable for others to experience than themselves. No differences in SODs were found between those who did and did not report alcohol use. Future studies should examine the efficacy of PFIs that incorporate normative feedback on alcohol-related consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]