Abstract
Studies assessing alcohol mixed with energy drink (AMED) use and drinking behaviors have been largely restricted to student-only cohorts. Thus, it is not known whether evidence from these studies is applicable to non-student populations. This study examined alcohol consumption and involvement in negative alcohol-related consequences among AMED and alcohol-only (AO) users, with the aim of determining whether drinking behaviors differ according to student status. An online survey was conducted in Australia to assess alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences following AMED and AO consumption, according to student status. The final sample consisted of 1369 participants. Between-subjects analyses comparing AMED and AO users, confirmed previous findings in that, compared with AO users, AMED users consumed significantly more alcohol, consumed alcohol more frequently and were involved in a greater number of alcohol-related consequences. Within-subjects analyses of AMED users comparing AMED and AO drinking occasions revealed that significantly less alcohol was consumed and involvement in negative alcohol-related consequences was lower during AMED compared with AO drinking occasions. Regardless of drink type, compared with students, non-students consumed more alcohol, consumed alcohol more frequently and were involved in a greater number of negative alcohol-related consequences. These findings provide further evidence that AMED use is one manifestation of a risk-taking personality and suggest that non-students drink more alcohol, drink more frequently and are involved in a greater number of negative alcohol-related consequences than students.
Highlights
Worldwide, over two billion people use alcohol and an estimated 283 million people have an alcohol use disorder [1]
This cross-sectional study was an online survey assessing alcohol consumption and involvement in negative alcohol-related consequences in i) alcohol mixed with energy drink (AMED) users compared to non-users ii) AMED users across AMED and alcohol-only (AO) drinking occasions and iii) students compared to non-students
AMED users and non-students consumed significantly more alcohol, consumed alcohol more frequently and participated in a greater number of negative alcohol-related consequences compared to AO users and students, respectively
Summary
Over two billion people use alcohol and an estimated 283 million people have an alcohol use disorder [1]. Alcohol consumption is problematic in Australia, which ranks alongside countries with the highest consumption levels worldwide [2] This is largely driven by the high prevalence of young adults who ‘binge drink’—that is, consume >4 standard drinks per drinking occasion. Binge drinking accounts for the bulk of alcohol-related morbidity among young adults [3] and is associated with many adverse outcomes such as physical injury, accidents, road trauma, alcohol poisoning, memory loss, self-harm, sexual risk-taking, aggression and violence [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Given the positive association between binge drinking and harms, young Australian adults are at a heightened risk of negative alcohol-related outcomes.
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