Public self-consciousness, pre-loading and drinking harms among university students

Abstract

Background: Social anxiety and self-consciousness are associated with alcohol-related problems in students. The practice of pre-loading is one avenue for exploration regarding this relationship. Individuals may pre-load to reduce social anxiety and feel more confident when socializing, which could lead to the increased harms experienced. The current study aimed to explore reasons for pre-loading, and whether public and private self-consciousness and social anxiety were related to pre-loading, increased drinking, and harms. Objectives: Prospective study with four-week follow up of 325 UK students aged 18-–30 years old. Participants completed measures of private and public self-consciousness, social anxiety, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harms, and pre-loading. Results: Financial motives and mood-related reasons, such as gaining confidence were reported as reasons for pre-loading. Pre-loading predicted hazardous alcohol consumption, but social anxiety, and public and private self-consciousness did not. However, pre-loading, public self-consciousness, and social anxiety predicted alcohol-related harms. Furthermore, public self-consciousness mediated the relationship between pre-loading and harms in a positive direction and this appeared to be more relevant in high-risk (AUDIT 8+) than low-risk drinkers. Conclusions: Students who scored higher in public self-consciousness appeared to be at greater risk of harms from pre-loading. Further research should examine this relationship with particular attention to high-risk drinkers, and explore which aspects of a night out are related to heightened self-consciousness. Interventions could incorporate measures to reduce public self-consciousness, in order to reduce the negative impacts of pre-loading.