Gender Equality, Drinking Cultures and Second-Hand Harms from Alcohol in the 50 US States.

BackgroundGender inequality and cultures of binge drinking may increase the risk of second-hand harms from alcohol.MethodsUsing the 2014-2015 National Alcohol Survey and 2015 National Alcohol's Harm to Others Survey (N = 7792), we examine associations of state-level gender equality measures (contraceptive access, abortion rights, women's economic equality) and binge drinking cultures (rates of men's and women's binge drinking) with individual-level indicators of second-hand harms by drinking strangers and partners/spouses.ResultsIn main effects models, only male binge drinking was associated with greater odds of harms from drinking strangers. There were significant interactions of gender equality with male binge drinking: High male binge drinking rates were more strongly associated with stranger-perpetrated harms in states low on contraceptive access or abortion rights compared to states high on these measures. Conversely, male binge drinking was more strongly associated with spouse/partner-perpetrated second-hand harms in states with more economic equality, compared to states lower on this measure.ConclusionsDetrimental effects of high male binge drinking rates may be modified by gender equality. Targeted interventions may reduce alcohol-related harms experienced by women in states with high rates of male binge drinking. Restrictions in access to contraception and abortion may exacerbate harms due to men's drinking

The international development of the ‘Social Norms’ approach to drug education and prevention

Binge drinking has sparked considerable interest and concern. However despite this interest little is known about the lay understanding of binge drinking and whether there are differences in understanding by gender, age and level of deprivation. Aims: This study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of a sample in the Inverclyde area to binge drinking. Methods: Using both cluster and quota sampling, 586 subjects completed a structured interview, using open questions about their beliefs on binge drinking and was it a problem generally and locally. Findings: Definitions of binge drinking tended to concentrate on intoxication and some described a dependent drinking pattern. Causes and solutions offered were varied but pointed up levels of deprivation in respect of jobs and entertainment. More subjects regarded binge drinking as a problem in society than locally, which is consistent with research suggesting that misperceptions of others’ drinking increases with social distance. Differences in beliefs were found by age and level of deprivation but not gender. It was marked that no subject offered the ‘official’ definition of bingeing or even an approximation of it. Conclusions: Further research is required if future mass media campaigns and interventions are to be relevant to the population

Peer-group and price influence students drinking along with planned behaviour

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ 2008 The Authors.Aims: To examine the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), as a framework for explaining binge drinking among young adults. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight students in a cross-sectional design study completed self-report questionnaires examining attitudes to drinking, intention to drink and drinking behaviour in university. Binge drinking was defined for females (and males) as consuming ‘four (males—five) or more pints of beer/glasses of wine/measures of spirits’ in a single session. Results: Drinking alcohol was common; 39.6% of males and 35.9% of females reported binge drinking. The TPB explained 7% of the variance in intention to drink. Overall, 43% of the variance in intention, 83% of the variance in total weekly consumption and 44% of the variance in binge drinking was explained. The frequency of drinking and the drinking behaviour of friends significantly predicted intention to drink and binge drinking, respectively. Binge drinkers were influenced by peers and social-situational factors. Pressure to drink was greater for males; undergraduates were influenced by the size of the drinking group, ‘special offer’ prices, and the availability of alcohol. Conclusions: The TPB appeared to be a weak predictor of student drinking but this may be a result of how constructs were measured. With friends’ drinking behaviour emerging as a significant predictor of alcohol consumption, interventions seeking to reduce excessive drinking should target the role of peers and the university environment in which drinking occurs

Alcohol Consumption and Binge Drinking Among Young Adults Aged 20–30 Years in Lisbon, Portugal

Background: Over the past decade, the changes to the pattern of alcohol consumption in Portugal, in particular among young people with heavy episodic drinking (binge drinking), are well documented. However, there are limited studies in individuals aged between 20 and 30 years, which is an important period of transition into adulthood where binge drinking can negatively influence the resolution of developmental tasks. Therefore, this study aims at analyzing the pattern of alcohol consumption and binge drinking among young adults aged between 20 and 30 years living in the municipality of Lisbon. Methodology: This is a quantitative, descriptive correlational study using a convenience sample composed of 259 individuals. We used the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for data collection. Results: Among the sampled subjects, 19.3% of them reported being nondrinkers. Among the alcohol-drinking subjects (N = 209), 61.3% reported binge drinking behaviors. We found a higher percentage of binge drinkers among vocational training students than among university students, as well as a relatively higher percentage of women. In both cases, we found no statistically significant differences. Within the total sample, 10.8% reported hazardous or harmful consumption, with men showing greater hazardous consumption. Conclusions: Although approximately one fifth of the sampled subjects reported being nondrinkers, the percentage of binge drinkers in this study was significantly higher than that reported in other studies. We also found that binge drinking is more common among vocational training students, although this difference was not statistically significant. Further studies are needed on this age group and in nonacademic settings

Age-related changes in the relationship between alcohol use and violence from early adolescence to young adulthood

BACKGROUND: Despite the accumulation of studies examining the link between alcohol use and violence, no studies to our knowledge have systematically set out to detect age-related differences in these relationships. This limitation inhibits important insights into the stability of the relationship between alcohol use and violence among youth across varying ages. METHOD: Study findings are based on repeated, cross-sectional data collected annually as part of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2002 and 2013. We combined a series of nationally representative cross-sections to provide a multi-year string of data that, in effect, reflects a nationally representative non-traditional cohort. We conducted logistic regression analyses to examine the cross-sectional association between non-binge and binge drinking and violent attacks among youth between ages 12 (2002) and 24/25 (2013). RESULTS: With respect to the association between non-binge alcohol use and violence, the only significant relationship identified—while controlling for sociodemographic and drug use factors—was for youth at age 13 (2003; OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.04–3.72). For binge drinking, we identified a distinct pattern of results. Controlling for sociodemographic, drug use factors, and school enrollment, binge drinking was significantly associated with violence between ages 13 (2003) and 20 (2010) with the largest odds ratios observed during the early adolescent period. CONCLUSIONS: Non-binge drinking is associated with violent behavior at age 13. Binge drinking was found to be associated with violence among youth through age 20; however, the relationship dissipates when youth arrive at the legal drinking age of 21

Risky drinking patterns are being continued into pregnancy: a prospective cohort study

Background: Risky patterns of alcohol use prior to pregnancy increase the risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and subsequent adverse outcomes. It is important to understand how consumption changes once women become pregnant. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of women that partake in risky drinking patterns before pregnancy and to examine how these patterns change once they become pregnant. Methods: A sample of 1577 women from the 1973–78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health were included if they first reported being pregnant in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 and reported risky drinking patterns prior to that pregnancy. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine which risky drinking patterns were most likely to continue into pregnancy. Results: When reporting risky drinking patterns prior to pregnancy only 6% of women reported weekly drinking only, whereas 46% reported binge drinking only and 48% reported both. Women in both binge categories were more likely to have experienced financial stress, not been partnered, smoked, used drugs, been nulliparous, experienced a violent relationship, and were less educated. Most women (46%) continued these risky drinking patterns into pregnancy, with 40% reducing these behaviors, and 14% completely ceasing alcohol consumption. Once pregnant, women who binged only prior to pregnancy were more likely to continue (55%) rather than reduce drinking (29%). Of the combined drinking group 61% continued to binge and 47% continued weekly drinking. Compared with the combined drinking group, binge only drinkers prior to pregnancy were less likely to reduce rather than continue their drinking once pregnant (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.47). Conclusions: Over a third of women continued risky drinking into pregnancy, especially binge drinking, suggesting a need to address alcohol consumption prior to pregnancy. Alexis J. Hure, Peta M. Forder, Jennifer Powers, Frances J. Kay-Lambkin, Deborah J. Loxto

Alcohol consumption is associated with increased all-cause mortality in Russian men and women: a cohort study based on the mortality of relatives

Objectives: To examine the relationships between frequency of alcohol consumption and of binge drinking and adult mortality in Russian men and women.Methods : Using modified indirect demographic techniques, a convenience cohort was constructed based on survey respondents? information about their close relatives. A random sample general population of the Russian Federation of 7172 respondents (response rate 61%) provided information on 10475 male and 3129 female relatives, including age, vital status and frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking. These relatives formed the cohort analysed in this report. The outcome measure was all-cause mortality after the age of 30 years.Findings: There was a strong linear relationship between frequency of drinking and of binge drinking and all-cause mortality in men; after controlling for smoking and calendar period of birth, the relative risk of death in daily drinkers compared to occasional drinkers was 1.52 (95% CI 1.33 ?1.75). Male binge drinkers had higher mortality than drinkers who did not binge, which persisted after adjustment for drinking frequency (adjusted RR 1.09 (1.00-1.19). In women, the increased mortality was confined to a small group of those who binged at least once a month (adjusted relative risk 2.68, 1.54-4.66). Conclusions: The results suggest a positive association between alcohol and mortality in Russia. There was no evidence for the protective effect of drinking seen in western populations. Alcohol appears to have contributed to the high long-term mortality rates in Russian men, but it is unlikely to be a major cause of female mortality. Objectives: To examine the relationships between frequency of alcohol consumption and of binge drinking and adult mortality in Russian men and women.Methods : Using modified indirect demographic techniques, a convenience cohort was constructed based on survey respondents? information about their close relatives. A random sample general population of the Russian Federation of 7172 respondents (response rate 61%) provided information on 10475 male and 3129 female relatives, including age, vital status and frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking. These relatives formed the cohort analysed in this report. The outcome measure was all-cause mortality after the age of 30 years.Findings: There was a strong linear relationship between frequency of drinking and of binge drinking and all-cause mortality in men; after controlling for smoking and calendar period of birth, the relative risk of death in daily drinkers compared to occasional drinkers was 1.52 (95% CI 1.33 ?1.75). Male binge drinkers had higher mortality than drinkers who did not binge, which persisted after adjustment for drinking frequency (adjusted RR 1.09 (1.00-1.19). In women, the increased mortality was confined to a small group of those who binged at least once a month (adjusted relative risk 2.68, 1.54-4.66). Conclusions: The results suggest a positive association between alcohol and mortality in Russia. There was no evidence for the protective effect of drinking seen in western populations. Alcohol appears to have contributed to the high long-term mortality rates in Russian men, but it is unlikely to be a major cause of female mortality

A prior history of binge-drinking increases sensitivity to the motivational valence of methamphetamine in female C57BL/6J mice.

Methamphetamine (MA) and alcohol use disorders exhibit a high degree of co-morbidity and sequential alcohol-MA mixing increases risk for co-abuse. Recently, we reported greater MA-conditioned reward in male C57BL/6J mice with a prior history of binge alcohol-drinking (14 days of 2-hour access to 5, 10, 20 and 40% alcohol). As female mice tend to binge-drink more alcohol than males and females tend to be more sensitive than males to the psychomotor-activating properties of MA, we first characterized the effects of binge-drinking upon MA-induced place-conditioning (four pairings of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, or 4 mg/kg IP) in females and then incorporated our prior data to analyze for sex differences in MA-conditioned reward. Prior binge-drinking history did not significantly affect locomotor hyperactivity or its sensitization in female mice. However, the dose-response function for place-conditioning was shifted to the left of water-drinking controls, indicating an increase in sensitivity to MA-conditioned reward. The examination of sex differences revealed no sex differences in alcohol intake, although females exhibited greater MA-induced locomotor stimulation than males, irrespective of their prior drinking history. No statistically significant sex difference was apparent for the potentiation of MA-conditioned reward produced by prior binge-drinking history. If relevant to humans, these data argue that both males and females with a prior binge-drinking history are similarly vulnerable to MA abuse and it remains to be determined whether or not the neural substrates underpinning this increased vulnerability reflect common or sex-specific adaptations in reward-related brain regions

'Binge' drinking, neo-liberalism and individualism

‘Binge’ drinking in the UK is perceived by government, media and academics alike as a topic of concern, despite the absence of any agreed definition. The current UK government’s approach to alcohol policy can be understood within the framework of neo-liberalism, its clear morals and ideals juxtaposed with increased opportunities for apparent transgression. ‘Binge’ drinking is constructed – by both media and government – as such transgression, in contrast with the ideals of ‘responsible’ or ‘moderate’ drinking. ‘Binge’ drinkers are seen as hedonistic, excessive and irrational; the antithesis of the rational, self-governing, moral individual that is the ideal neo-liberal subject. Conversely, most academic discussions of ‘binge’ drinking have focused on the contrast with what has been called ‘traditional’ drinking, based in community pubs and understood to have reinforced stable working-class, masculine identities based on workplace relations. ‘Binge’ drinking is presented as an individualistic practice, constructing identities through consumption under conditions determined by big business, with any sense of community being simply brand loyalty created by companies. ‘Binge’ drinking is thus understood not as the antithesis of neo-liberal ideals, but their apotheosis. My ethnographic research of drinking cultures in Bournemouth, UK, suggests that the relationship between individualism and drinking on the British night-time high street is more varied and nuanced than either of these models suggest. Some drinkers did present individualistic identities constructed through consumption, but they emphasised self-control, rationality and ‘good taste’, trying to distance themselves from conceptions of ‘binge’ drinking. On the other hand, many who might commonly be identified as ‘binge’ drinkers denounced the construction of such identities as ‘stuck up’ because of the stress on ‘image’ over ‘having a laugh’, and emphasised instead a sense of community that built on relationships from school and work, not simply shared patterns of consumption. The paper will therefore address the theme ‘New and Old Individualisms’, as it considers how ideas of individualism and distinction inform Bournemouth’s high street drinking cultures