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Binge drinking in Europe: Definitions, epidemiology, and consequences
Abstract
Objective: To give an overview of prevalence, trends, and outcomes of binge drinking defined as drinking a high amount of alcohol on one occasion with a focus on European research. Method: Qualitative review based on a computer-assisted search of articles. Results: Males have more binge drinking occasions than females. In so-called dry (Northern) countries, a higher proportion of alcohol is consumed in binges than in wet (Southern) countries. Among adolescents and young adults in particular, increasing trends could be found. Binge drinking is linked to a variety of detrimental social and health outcomes. Yet, due to different definition criteria, the comparison of the studies is limited. Conclusion: Cross national studies with unified binge criteria and binge drinking in Europe emphasizing consequences are urgent research tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... The association between alcohol and falls is especially pronounced in older adults, where alcoholinduced gait instability and slowed reaction times signi cantly elevate fall risk [38]. Alcohol remains one of the leading contributors to tra c-related injuries and fatalities globally, primarily due to impaired motor coordination, delayed response time, and reduced situational awareness [39,40]. ...
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between substance use and the risk of developing injuries. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from a national health database between 2013 and 2022, including 324,648 individuals with documented substance use and an equal number of matched controls. Substance types included alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and other substances. Injuries were classified into six subtypes: suicide, intentional injury, vehicle-related injury, falls, fire-related injury, and drowning. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess injury risk, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to assess cumulative injury risk over time. Results: Substance users had a significantly higher risk of injury compared to non-users (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.444, p < 0.001). The greatest risks were observed for suicide (aHR = 10.287), intentional injury (aHR = 2.453), and falls (aHR = 1.742). Drug use was most strongly associated with suicide and intentional injury, while alcohol use showed a strong association with fall and vehicle-related injuries. Other substances presented the highest injury risks across several subtypes. Additional risk factors included female gender, low income, major illness, comorbidities (stroke, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia), and high urbanization levels. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that the cumulative injury risk for substance users diverged significantly from non-users beginning around year two and continued to increase over the 10-year follow-up period. Conclusion: Substance use significantly increases injury risk across multiple injury types, with varying impacts depending on the substance involved. These findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions and prevention strategies that address substance-specific risks and vulnerable populations.
... However, in both countries, and particularly when drinking in company, despite women's initial intentions to drink in moderation, once they began drinking, they often abandoned these well-meaning plans, despite their awareness of the potential consequences. This was frequently observed in Halifax, where women often engaged in binge-drinking; that is, single heavy-drinking sessions leading to intoxication (Gmel et al., 2003). These sessions typically occurred outside the home, where friends encouraged heavy drinking to foster social solidarity. ...
This paper examines wine drinking among English and Australian women to discover and analyse the connection between their consumption of wine and their experiences, thoughts and imaginings. Comparing the experiences of women from the English town of Halifax with women from the southern suburbs of Adelaide and McLaren Vale (South Australia), I show how imbibing wine enables both groups of women to consume place, space and time, thus extending a liminal experience. Importantly, both groups of women engage with notions of national or regional identity. However, whereas English women typically experience wine drinking as a temporal engagement of social imagination involving a form of armchair alco‐tourism, Australian women mostly engage their social memory, and experience wine drinking as embedded within imagined communities of belonging. As such, this study demonstrates that wine drinking is not just gendered, but a complex, culturally situated practice and experience.
... For instance, one hypothesized pathway between unhealthy dietary habits and mental health issues is through the development of obesity, which can trigger adipose-induced inflammation and lead to mental health problems such as depression [24]. Alcohol exposure, for example, episodic heavy drinking [25], during adolescence disrupts brain development and executive function maturation, which negatively impacts emotional states [26]. Moreover, smoking is associated with changes in brain structure and neural circuitry in brain regions, and these changes are implicated in mental disorders [27]. ...
Background
Adolescent mental health problems are on the rise globally, including in Sweden. One indicator of this trend is increased psychosomatic symptoms (PSS) over time. Lifestyle factors such as physical activity (PA), diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption may influence the time trends in PSS; however, the evidence base is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between time trends in PSS and lifestyle factors.
Methods
The study was based on data collected from a nationally representative sample of 9,196 fifteen-year-old boys and girls in Sweden using the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) symptom checklist. The sample comprised nearly equal proportions of girls (50.5%) and boys. The lifestyle factors examined in this study included PA, regular breakfast intake, consumption of fruits, vegetables, sweets, or soft drinks, smoking, and alcohol drunkenness. We used data from 2002 to 2018 and stratified by family affluence scale (FAS) to demonstrate how the associations varied among the FAS groups. We fitted separate regression models for the high- and low-FAS groups, where interaction terms between the year of survey and each lifestyle factor were used to estimate the level and direction of associations between the factors and trends in PSS.
Results
There was a generally increasing trend in PSS mean scores from 2.26 in 2002 to 2.49 in 2018 (p <.001). The changes in each survey year compared to the average mean scores during the preceding years were significant in all years except 2010. Regular breakfast intake, daily fruit and vegetable consumption, and higher PA were associated with lower PSS mean scores, while smoking and drunkenness had opposite associations with PSS. The only significant interaction between survey year and the lifestyle factors was observed regarding drunkenness in the high FAS group, suggesting that the association between trends in PSS and the experience of getting drunk at least twice got stronger over time (B = 0.057; CI:0.016, 0.097; p <.01).
Conclusions
The results indicate increasing trends in PSS among young people in Sweden from 2002 to 2018, with a significant increase observed among adolescents in the high FAS group who reported getting drunk on at least two occasions.
... The generally agreed-upon definition was a pattern of consuming, during a period of a few hours, at least four "standard" drinks by a female and at least five "standard" drinks by a male. The defining level of purealcohol ingestion was at least 50 g for females and at least 60 g for males -the difference in quantity reflecting generally acknowledged differences in male-female metabolism of alcohol (Gmel et al., 2003;Graham et al., 1998;Jackson, 2008;Lange & Voas, 2000;Patrick & Azar, 2018). In 2004, the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) attempted to provide a more precise definition by assigning HED a BAC threshold value ≥0.8 g/L for both males and females alike (NIAAA, 2004(NIAAA, , 2022. ...
Background
To date, there have been no major studies of alcohol‐associated unnatural deaths in Thailand or South East Asia. Thailand leads South East Asia in per capita alcohol consumption. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence of alcohol‐associated unnatural deaths in Thailand and their relation to post‐mortem blood alcohol concentration (BAC); to investigate correlations between BAC and selected demographic variables; and to evaluate the incidence of co‐use of alcohol and illicit substances.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective register‐based study of alcohol‐investigated unnatural deaths in Thailand for the period 2007–2019. The core study sample (n = 77,006) was derived from a Thai government computerized database of unnatural‐death autopsies.
Results
Of the total autopsy sample 32.49% was alcohol positive (BAC ≥0.20 g/L). The rate at which male autopsy cases were alcohol positive (35.52%) was approximately twice that of female autopsy cases (16.62%), with males having significantly higher median BAC levels, 1.64 and 1.31 g/L, respectively. The incidence of female alcohol‐positive cases with extremely high BACs (≥3.50 g/L) was comparable to that of male alcohol‐positive autopsies. The rates at which victims of accidents, homicides, and suicides were alcohol positive were 42.44%, 38.81%, and 33.25%, respectively. Drowning fatalities had the highest rate of alcohol detection (49.12%) and the highest median BAC (2.47 g/L). The next highest rate (48.47%) was among road traffic fatalities (RTFs, BAC 1.92 g/L), which accounted for about one‐half of all RTFs and one‐third of all alcohol‐positive autopsies. Of the total alcohol‐positive population, 8.33% tested positive for illicit substances, most commonly methamphetamine/amphetamine.
Conclusions
BAC results for the majority of male and female alcohol‐positive victims exceeded the generally accepted threshold for Heavy Episodic Drinking (0.8 g/L) and provided a rare BAC‐documented (≥3.50 g/L) example of gender parity in the incidence of heavy alcohol consumption. The median BAC value for alcohol‐positive RTFs (1.92 g/L) was about 10% higher than in studies in most other countries and about four times greater the Thai legal limit for motor‐vehicle operation (0.50 g/L).
... Alcohol abuse also referred to as alcoholism is a consistent pattern of alcohol consumption that is associated with cognitive deficits and behavioural and physiological impairments that lead to significant medical and socio-economic consequences [11]. More so, the impact of excessive alcohol consumption on the societal burden of health is well-documented in terms of increased psychosocial problems, psychiatric comorbidities as well as other related disabilities [7], [24], [20], [21]. Alcohol abuse is ranked fifth in risk factors for global disease and its accounts for 3.2% of all global mortality, [25]. ...
Introduction: Alcohol abuse and its associated disorders have been a public health challenge, especially among youth resulting in serious psycho-social- economic problems worldwide. The objective of this study was to assess the association between the Youth Enterprise Development Fund initiative and alcohol abuse among youth in Murang’a County, Kenya. Method and Materials: This was a comparative cross-sectional study design with the application of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods carried out in 2019. A sample size of 141 YEDF beneficiaries and 141 non-beneficiaries was determined. The systematic sampling method was applied in selecting YEDF beneficiaries with a random start. YEDF beneficiary participants identified non-beneficiaries using non-relative matching peers. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was administered through a questionnaire while Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-Depth Interviews were applied in qualitative data collection. Quantitative data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 22 and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant while Manual thematic analysis was applied to the analysis of qualitative data. Results: The prevalence of alcohol use was 21.3% while the prevalence of alcohol abuse among study participants was 7.4% with a significantly higher percentage in YEDF beneficiaries (10.6%) compared to non-YEDF beneficiaries (4.2%), (p=0.041). Among those who were consuming alcohol, 34.9% of YEDF beneficiaries and35.3%of YEDF nonbeneficiaries were alcohol abusers (p=0.976) with no statistically significant difference. Qualitatively, the study indicated that alcohol abuse among youth has significantly decreased since the YEDF initiative was introduced among the youth. Conclusion: The study concludes that alcohol abuse among youth has significantly dropped since the YEDF initiative. According to the participants, the small-scale enterprises put up by the funds beneficiaries have contributed to this decrease. For a better outcome, there is an urgent need to step up awareness and sensitization of the YEDF initiative since most youths within the lower age bracket were not aware of the loan funds as well as more input in training the youth in matters regarding business planning and management.
... Binge drinking (BD) refers to the consumption of a large volume of alcohol (heavy drinking) in a short period of time (Gmel et al., 2003) that leads to intoxication (Herring et al., 2008). This pattern of alcohol consumption ─ which is also termed heavy episodic drinking (HED) (Herring et al., 2008) ─ is prevalent in many societies, with a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) showing that the worldwide prevalence of BD (HED) was 39.5% among drinkers aged 15 and above in 2016 (World Health Organization, 2018). ...
Background
There is some evidence that alcohol use may have changed during the coronavirus pandemic. However, as yet, there has been comparatively little focus on heavy/excessive drinking. This study examined binge drinking (BD) in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic and its association with COVID-19 preventive behaviors.
Method
Data were analyzed from an online sample of 1452 individuals aged 18 and above that were collected one year after the beginning of the pandemic. Self-reported information was obtained on current and pre-pandemic BD and a range of sociodemographic and health-related variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations.
Results
Just under one-third of the sample (29.3%) reported past-month BD. More individuals reduced rather than increased BD during the pandemic (11.5 > 6.5%). Worsening household finances and depressive symptoms were associated with both current and increased BD, while young age (18-29) was linked to both increased and decreased BD. Individuals who binged reported significantly lower odds for engaging in several COVID-19 preventive behaviors including wearing a mask (odds ratio [OR]: 0.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.30-0.76), hand washing (OR: 0.58, 95%CI: 0.44-0.76) and avoiding crowds/staying at home (OR:0.72, 95%CI: 0.55-0.93).
Conclusion
BD is prevalent in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic and associated with poorer adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Increasing public awareness of the potentially detrimental effects of heavy alcohol use during the ongoing pandemic is now a public health priority.
... Alcohol use initiation usually takes place in adolescence (Johnston et al., 2003) and is followed by excessive drinking episodes more often in late adolescence and early adulthood (at ages 15-24 years) than at any other developmental stage (Gmel et al., 2003;RARHA, 2016). An early initiation can increase the risks for alcohol problems later in life (McCambridge et al., 2011;Kuntsche et al., 2017). ...
The evidence on why people initiate or cease drinking is vast; however, little is known regarding why people change their frequency and amount of drinking from intense (heavy or dependent drinking) to recreational (with little risk). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how drinking motives and motives to decrease drinking differ between former heavy drinkers (problematic and dependent), current dependent, and current recreational drinkers. Data were obtained from four groups of individuals (n = 263) using alcohol with different severity. The participants were Polish young adults aged between 18 and 35 years. About 53% of the sample were women. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess the level of drinking; the Drinking Motive Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (DMQ-R SF) was used to assess drinking motives (social, coping, enhancement, and conformity). The reasons for abstaining and limiting drinking (RALD) instrument was used to assess the RALD. Additionally, a set of questions regarding motives to decrease drinking were analysed. The results show that differences were observed between the investigated groups: the current dependent group scored significantly higher on all the dimensions of drinking motives than the current low-risk group and significantly higher on coping, social, and enhancement motives than former heavy drinkers (both groups). The two groups of former heavy drinkers did not differ from each other on drinking motives. The investigated groups differed on the motives to reduce drinking—low-risk users scored the lowest on all the motives, whereas current dependent—the highest. The differences in motives to decrease drinking between current-depended and former heavy drinkers indicate which motives can be associated with the prevention strategies, programmes, and therapeutic approaches.
Emerging adulthood is a developmental phase marked by increased vulnerability to risky behaviors, including alcohol misuse. Pathological narcissism, particularly grandiose and vulnerable traits, has been identified as a key factor influencing alcohol misuse. The role of mentalized affectivity (namely, the ability to identify, express, and process emotions) may enhance these associations, along with potential gender differences in these dynamics.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,075 emerging adults (M = 24.26, SD = 2.43; 71.2% assigned female at birth), using self-reports to measure pathological narcissism, mentalization difficulties, and alcohol misuse. Hierarchical regression models were used to examine the relationships between narcissistic traits, mentalized affectivity, and alcohol misuse.
Grandiose narcissism was associated with alcohol misuse in the total sample. Narcissistic vulnerability was a stronger predictor of alcohol misuse in female individuals, while difficulties in mentalization (identifying and expressing emotions) were significant predictors of alcohol misuse in males. Grandiose narcissism did not directly predict alcohol misuse in either gender, after controlling for Narcissistic vulnerability.
Vulnerable narcissism plays a significant role in alcohol misuse, especially in female individuals, with mentalization difficulties exacerbating these behaviors, particularly in male individuals. Gender differences highlight the need for gender-specific interventions in emerging adults.
This current study ‘EVADRUG’, as conducted between 2020 and 2021, presents a general evaluation of the Belgian drug policy, as defined by the Federal Drug Note of 2001 and the Joint Declaration of 2010.
Evaluating a drug policy provides some indications about the success but also the shortcomings of policy, and contributes to transparency, accountability and a better planning of resources. It is no coincidence that the importance of systematically monitoring and evaluating (national) drug policy has been repeatedly stressed in several policy documents at international, European and national level. As a result, the past two decades spurred an increasing amount of countries to evaluate their national drug policy, mostly focusing on process evaluations verifying whether the objectives and actions described in one’s drug policy have been implemented. These types of (process) evaluations are indispensable to policy evaluation and effective policy making, because they can indicate whether a policy action is fully or properly implemented, how the results of a policy are achieved, and what the limitations of a policy encounter.
Introduction
Alcohol consumption has been steadily increasing in East Asia, however, there is comparatively little regional data of alcohol-related harms. This study examines the alcohol-related harms prevalence and risk factors in Hong Kong, a high population density city with limited alcohol regulation.
Methods
A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted in 2019 on Chinese adults aged 18–74 (n = 3200). Respondents were asked about various past-year first-hand drinking harms (after one's own drinking), second-hand harms (harms from other people's drinking) and views of neighbourhood alcohol outlet regulation.
Results
Of drinkers, 21.1% reported first-hand alcohol harms, with physical/mental health harms (15.7%) most commonly reported. Younger-aged drinkers (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] 2.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.63, 4.48) and heavy drinkers (AOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.55, 3.55) were more likely to report first-hand harms. Of the sample, 18.2% experienced past-year second-hand harms, with public harms (12.9%) most commonly reported. Young age (AOR 1.88, 95% CI 1.43, 2.49), higher education (AOR 1.44, 95% CI 1.13, 1.83), past-year binge drinking (AOR 4.29, 95% CI 3.04, 6.05) and communal living (AOR 2.04, 95% CI 1.13, 3.75) predicted greater likelihood of second-hand alcohol harms. Higher neighbourhood alcohol outlet density was not associated with any first-hand harms and only significantly predicted being inconvenienced by drinkers. Although victims of second-hand alcohol harms were more supportive of regulating outlet density, 93.3% of respondents were opposed to such policies.
Discussion and Conclusions
Although high levels of alcohol-related harms were not reported by Hong Kong adults, regulations should target young drinkers and binge drinkers who are most likely to experience drinking-related harms.
Background: Drinking is influenced by youth perceptions of how their peers drink. These perceptions are often incorrect, overestimating peer drinking norms. If inaccurate perceptions can be corrected, young people may drink less. Objectives: To determine whether social norms interventions reduce alcohol-related negative consequences, alcohol misuse or alcohol consumption when compared with a control (ranging from assessment only/no intervention to other educational or psychosocial interventions) among university and college students. Search methods: The following electronic databases were searched up to July 2015: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO. The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) only to March 2008. Reference lists of included studies and review articles were manually searched. No restriction based on language or date was applied. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials or cluster-randomised controlled trials that compared a social normative intervention versus no intervention, alcohol education leaflet or other 'non-normative feedback' alcohol intervention and reported on alcohol consumption or alcohol-related problems in university or college students. Data collection and analysis: We used standard methodological procedures as expected by Cochrane. Each outcome was analysed by mode of delivery: mailed normative feedback (MF); web/computer normative feedback (WF); individual face-to-face normative feedback (IFF); group face-to-face normative feedback (GFF); and normative marketing campaign (MC). Main results: A total of 70 studies (44,958 participants) were included in the review, and 63 studies (42,784 participants) in the meta-analyses. Overall, the risk of bias assessment showed that these studies provided moderate or low quality evidence. Outcomes at four or more months post-intervention were of particular interest to assess when effects were sustained beyond the immediate short term. We have reported pooled effects across delivery modes only for those analyses for which heterogeneity across delivery modes is not substantial (I² < 50%). Alcohol-related problems at four or more months: IFF standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.24 to -0.04 (participants = 2327; studies = 11; moderate quality evidence), equivalent to a decrease of 1.28 points in the 69-point alcohol problems scale score. No effects were found for WF or MF. Binge drinking at four or more months: results pooled across delivery modes: SMD -0.06, 95% CI -0.11 to -0.02 (participants = 11,292; studies = 16; moderate quality evidence), equivalent to 2.7% fewer binge drinkers if 30-day prevalence is 43.9%. Drinking quantity at four or more months: results pooled across delivery modes: SMD -0.08, 95% CI -0.12 to -0.04 (participants = 21,169; studies = 32; moderate quality evidence), equivalent to a reduction of 0.9 drinks consumed each week, from a baseline of 13.7 drinks per week. Drinking frequency at four or more months: WF SMD -0.11, 95% CI -0.17 to -0.04 (participants = 9929; studies = 10; moderate quality evidence), equivalent to a decrease of 0.17 drinking days/wk, from a baseline of 2.74 days/wk; IFF SMD -0.21, 95% CI -0.31 to -0.10 (participants = 1464; studies = 8; moderate quality evidence), equivalent to a decrease of 0.32 drinking days/wk, from a baseline of 2.74 days/wk. No effects were found for GFF or MC. Estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at four or more months: peak BAC results pooled across delivery modes: SMD -0.08, 95% CI -0.17 to 0.00 (participants = 7198; studies = 11; low quality evidence), equivalent to a reduction in peak BAC from an average of 0.144% to 0.135%. No effects were found for typical BAC with IFF. Authors' conclusions: The results of this review indicate that no substantive meaningful benefits are associated with social norms interventions for prevention of alcohol misuse among college/university students. Although some significant effects were found, we interpret the effect sizes as too small, given the measurement scales used in the studies included in this review, to be of relevance for policy or practice. Moreover, the significant effects are not consistent for all misuse measures, heterogeneity was a problem in some analyses and bias cannot be discounted as a potential cause of these findings.
Background and objectives:
Binge drinking is a phenomenon of excessive alcohol use seen in many countries. The objectives of this systematic review are a) to investigate the effect of parental socioeconomic status on binge drinking in adolescents, b) to compare how binge drinking and parental socioeconomic status was measured across studies, and c) to compare the differences between developed and developing countries.
Method:
We searched PsycINFO and Ovid Medline databases for articles up to January 2016. Parental socioeconomic status is defined as household income, parental educational level, and parental occupational status. Binge drinking is defined as at least 4/5 alcohol drinks on a single occasion.
Results:
Four hundred and fourteen articles were granted from the databases search with an additional 28 articles were hand-searched through bibliographies. After abstracts and full-text were reviewed, a total of 20 studies have met inclusion criteria for this systematic review. In developed countries, included studies were done in the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Canada. In developing countries, included studies were done in China and Brazil.
Conclusions:
The majority of studies find no relationship between parental socioeconomic status and binge drinking in adolescents. However, studies that were done in developing countries yielded a weak positive association when no such association was found in developed countries. The variation on measuring binge drinking and parental socioeconomic status is discussed.
Scientific significance:
These findings may inform healthcare systems in prevention and intervention for binge drinking among adolescents (Am J Addict 2016;XX:1-10).
Background:
Electronic screening and brief intervention (eSBI) is effective in reducing weekly alcohol consumption when delivered by a computer. Mobile phone apps demonstrate promise in delivering eSBI; however, few have been designed with an evidence-based and user-informed approach.
Objective:
This study aims to explore from a user perspective, preferences for content, appearance, and operational features to inform the design of a mobile phone app for reducing quantity and frequency of drinking in young adults engaged in harmful drinking (18-30 year olds).
Methods:
Phase 1 included a review of user reviews of available mobile phone apps that support a reduction in alcohol consumption. Apps were identified on iTunes and Google Play and were categorized into alcohol reduction support, entertainment, blood alcohol content measurement (BAC), or other. eSBI apps with ≥18 user reviews were subject to a content analysis, which coded praise, criticism, and recommendations for app content, functionality, and esthetics. Phase 2 included four focus groups with young adults drinking at harmful levels and residing in South London to explore their views on existing eSBI apps and preferences for future content, functionality, and appearance. Detailed thematic analysis of the data was undertaken.
Results:
In Phase 1, of the 1584 apps extracted, 201 were categorized as alcohol reduction, 154 as BAC calculators, 509 as entertainment, and 720 as other. We classified 32 apps as eSBI apps. Four apps had ≥18 user reviews: Change for Life Drinks Tracker, Drinksmeter, Drinkaware, and Alcohol Units Calculator. The highest proportion of content praises were for information and feedback provided in the apps (12/27, 44%), followed by praise for the monitoring features (5/27, 19%). Many (8/12, 67%) criticisms were for the drinking diary; all of these were related to difficulty entering drinks. Over half (18/32, 56%) of functionality criticisms were descriptions of software bugs, and over half of those (10/18, 56%) were for app crashing or freezing. Drinksmeter and Alcohol Units Calculator were the most highly praised apps overall (23/57 and 22/57; 39% of praise overall). In Phase 2, two main themes were identified. The meaningfulness theme reflected how young adults thought apps needed to be tailored to the interests and values of their age group, particularly emphasizing content and feedback around broader health and well-being factors such as exercise, diet, and image. The community theme suggested that young adults want to be able to engage with other app users, both in groups of friends and with online users for motivation and support.
Conclusions:
Targeted and relevant information and feedback, in addition to easy-to-use monitoring tools, were found to be important features of a mobile phone app to support a reduction in drinking. Future app development should consider tailoring all app aspects to the needs of young adults, considering broader well-being monitoring tools and online community functions.
The motivational theory of current concerns accounts for attentional focus on stimuli related to a person's goal pursuits. When people actively pursue a goal of using addictive substances in order to regulate their affective states, they have a current concern for procuring and using the substance. A current concern is a latent, time-binding, goal-lurking motivational state that sensitizes the person's attentional and other cognitive processes related to the goal of using the substance. Such hypersensitivity to substance-related stimuli both implicitly and explicitly influences a substance abuser's decision-making processes. Attentional bias for substance-related stimuli is one of the implicit processes that make addictive behaviors hard to control. The chapter discusses motivational and attentional interventions for curbing addictive behaviors.
Introduction: Little has been reported on the efficacy of brief intervention (BI) among heavy episodic drinkers, although this drinking style is known to be especially harmful in relation to negative consequences including alcohol-related injuries. The comparative efficacy of BI is analysed in two similar randomised controlled clinical trials of emergency department (ED) patients in different cultures, both exhibiting similar styles of heavy episodic drinking: Polish and Mexican-Americans in the U.S.
Methods: Improvements in drinking and problem outcomes are analysed at 3-month and 12-month follow-up, using random effects modelling, among 446 Polish patients and 698 Mexican-American patients, randomised to screened-only, assessment, and intervention conditions in each study.
Results: In Poland significant improvement was observed in all outcome measures for the assessed condition at 3 months compared to baseline, but only in the two problem variables at 12 months, while for the intervention condition, significant improvement was found in all outcome measures at both time periods; however, estimates of the interaction terms were not statistically significant. In the Mexican-American study, while significant improvement in nearly all outcome measures were observed at 3 months and 12 months for both conditions, estimates of the interaction terms suggest that for all drinking variables, but not problem variables, outcomes were significantly improved for the intervention condition over the assessed condition at 12 months, suggesting a 12-month intervention effect.
Conclusions: Findings here are non-conclusive regarding a treatment effect of BI for heavy episodic drinking in ED patients. Given the mixed findings for BI in other ED studies, future studies need to explore the efficacy of BI in other populations and cultures exhibiting different drinking patterns to help identify what type of drinker would most benefit from BI in the ED setting.
Aims:
To estimate (1) the prevalence of underage binge drinking, high-intensity drinking and intoxication among young adults aged 19/20 years; (2) change in these behaviors across the transition out of high school and across historical time; and (3) associations between these behaviors and key covariates, including college status.
Design, setting, participants:
Longitudinal data from the US nationally representative Monitoring the Future study included 1657 respondents first surveyed as 12th graders (modal age 18 years) in 2005-13 and again at modal age 19/20 years in 2006-14.
Measurements:
Self-reported measures of alcohol use, demographics, college attendance and living situation.
Findings:
Binge drinking (5+ drinks on one occasion) was reported by 24.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 22.0, 26.5] of young adults aged 19/20; 10.3% (CI = 8.7, 11.9) reported high-intensity drinking of 10+ drinks; 4.2% (CI = 3.1, 5.2) reported 15+ drinks. Usual moderate/high intoxication when drinking was reported by 33.1% (CI = 30.6, 35.6); 29.6% (CI = 27.2, 32.0) reported usual sustained intoxication of 3+ hours. Significant variability (P < 0.001) in these behaviors from ages 18 to 19/20 was observed. Significant decreases (P < 0.05) across historical time in 5+ and 10+ drinking were found. Four-year college students not residing with parents had significantly higher odds of moderate/high intoxication, binge drinking and high-intensity drinking compared with other groups (P < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Young adult underage binge drinking (5+ drinks on one occasion), high-intensity drinking (10+ and 15+ drinks) and intoxication are relatively common in the United States, and show meaningful variability across the transition out of high school. Four-year college students and those who do not live with their parents are more likely to engage in high-intensity drinking than their peers.
Previous reviews have specifically looked at computer-based or Internet-based approaches. However, there has been no systematic review focused upon electronic communication based interventions for hazardous young drinkers.
Out of 3298 relevant citations, 13 papers consisting of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Effectiveness of intervention delivery was assessed using behavioural outcomes. Eight papers delivered interventions using the Web, three implemented text messaging, one used a mobile phone app and the remaining paper used a social networking site.
The ability to provide personalized electronic feedback resulted in a reduction in alcohol consumption, frequency of binge drinking, and drinking in a non-risky way. However, intervention length did not appear to have an impact on overall effectiveness.
Usage of text messaging and Social Network Sites (SNS) increased accessibility and ease of engaging in an intervention that is appealing and acceptable for young adults.
Objective:
This study tested whether perceived parental approval of high-risk drinking is directly linked to alcohol-related outcomes or whether the link between perceived parental approval and these outcomes is mediated by perceived friends' approval of high-risk drinking.
Method:
In fall 2009, 1,797 incoming first-year college students (49.7% female) from 142 U.S. colleges and universities completed a web-based survey before participating in an online substance use prevention program. The analytic sample included only 18- to 20-year-old freshmen students who had consumed alcohol in the past year. Students answered questions about perceived parental approval and perceived friends' approval of high-risk drinking. They also answered questions about their alcohol use (heavy episodic drinking, risky drinking behaviors), use of self-protective strategies (to prevent drinking and driving and to moderate alcohol use), and negative alcohol-related consequences (health, academic and work, social consequences, and drinking and driving).
Results:
Mediation analyses controlling for the clustering of students within schools indicated that perceived parental approval was directly associated with more easily observable outcomes (e.g., academic- and work-related consequences, drinking and driving). Perceived friends' approval significantly mediated the link between perceived parental approval and outcomes that are less easily observed (e.g., alcohol use, health consequences).
Conclusions:
During the transition to college, parents may influence students' behaviors both directly (through communication) as well as indirectly (by shaping their values and whom students select as friends). Alcohol use prevention programs for students about to start college should address both parental and friend influences on alcohol use.
Background:
Worldwide, 16% of people aged 15 and older engage in harmful use of alcohol. Harmful alcohol use leads to a host of preventable negative social and health consequences. Mobile technology-based interventions provide a particularly promising avenue for the widespread and cost-effective delivery of treatment that is accessible, affordable, individualized, and destigmatized to both alcohol-dependent and nondependent individuals.
Aims:
The present review sought to summarize the current literature on mobile technology-based interventions among adult users of alcohol and determine the efficacy of such interventions.
Methods:
Five databases were searched in December 2015 (Jan. 2004-Dec. 2015). Inclusion criteria were: participants aged 18 or older, interventions delivered through mobile-technology, and outcome measurement of alcohol reduction/cessation.
Findings:
Eight studies met inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies reviewed found positive effects of the intervention, even though the interventions themselves varied in design, length, dosage, and target population, and were pilot or preliminary in nature.
Conclusions:
Findings from this review highlight the promising, yet preliminary state of research in this area. Studies with adequate power and valid design are necessary to evaluate the potential of mobile technology-based interventions on long-term alcohol behavior outcomes. Furthermore, future research should elucidate what the most effective length of time is for a mobile technology-based intervention, how often individuals should receive messages for maximum benefit, and determine the comparative effectiveness of mobile technology interventions with other efficacious interventions.
Introduction and aims:
The first aim was to estimate the extent to which the variation in alcohol use across specific drinking occasions arises from variation at the occasion level and from variation at the drinker level. The second aim was to identify characteristics of drinking situations that moderate or increase situational alcohol use beyond the influence of drinker-level characteristics.
Design and methods:
The general population aged 15-69 years in Finland was sampled randomly in 2008. The multilevel analysis was based on data from 1511 drinkers and 2933 drinking occasions that occurred in the 7 days before the interview. Alcohol use was operationalised as estimated blood alcohol level (BAL). Characteristics of drinking occasions included location, circumstance, company and timing. Drinker-level data included demographic and drinking pattern variables.
Results:
Fifty-three percent of the variance in BAL was between occasions and 47% between respondents, for both women and men. With drinking patterns and demographic characteristics controlled for, the dominant characteristics of drinking occasions predisposing to greater intoxication were late-night drinking, across locations and for both genders. For private locations, predisposing characteristics included drinking on weekends for both genders and drinking with friends for men.
Discussion and conclusions:
Situational and drinker levels are equally important in determining the BAL in drinking occasions; therefore, prevention efforts should be targeted at both risky individuals and risky drinking occasions. Occasions occurring late at night, often at home and with friends, are a central challenge for targeting preventive efforts related to situational drinking.[Mustonen H, Mäkelä P, Lintonen T. Situational drinking in private and public locations: A multilevel analysis of blood alcohol level in Finnish drinking occasions. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;00:000-000].