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 This study, and other studies of protective drinking strategies,
“seem to be finding similar results, whether looking at 21st
birthday drinking, spring break drinking, or college student
drinking more generally,” said lead author Melissa A. Lewis of the
University of Washington in Seattle.
“The surprising result is that some types of protective strategies
are associated with greater alcohol use and an increased number of
consequences,” she added in an email.
Lewis and her colleagues studied 694 undergraduate college students,
and 131 of their friends, who intended to go on a spring break trip
and to drink heavily on at least one day of the trip.
The students completed online surveys before and one week after
spring break, with questions about drinking activities each day of
the break, “protective” strategies, and negative consequences of
drinking (for example, getting into fights, passing out, taking
foolish risks, or neglecting obligations).
The students reported having an average of five and a half alcoholic
drinks per day.
Their protective strategies fell into three categories: “serious
harm reduction” methods, like making sure that you go home with a
friend; “limiting/stopping” strategies, like having a friend let you
know when you've had enough, and “manner of drinking” strategies,
like avoiding drinking games or drinking water between alcoholic
drinks.
The more harm reduction and limiting/stopping strategies a student
employed, the more he or she tended to drink on that day, and the
greater the consequences, the researchers found.
On the other hand, manner of drinking strategies were tied to less
drinking and fewer consequences, according to a report in the
journal Addictive Behaviors.
Just because harm reduction strategies were tied to more consumption
does not mean they are bad strategies, Lewis said.
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“Take for example, using a designated driver, which is a type of
serious harm reduction strategy,” she said. “Using a designated
driver may be associated with increased drinking or consequences.”
“A student may have drank more heavily and done embarrassing
things,” she said. “However, they didn’t drive drunk,” so using a
designated driver is still a good strategy.
Ideally, students should focus on both reducing the amount of
drinking and the consequences of drinking, she said.
“When working with college students, we need to focus on why
specific strategies are being used,” Lewis said. “For example, it is
important for (doctors) to know if someone indicates they are using
a designated driver to reduce specific consequences (driving under
the influence) but also in order to drink heavily.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1MvbUss Addictive Behavior, online July 3,
2015.
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