College students' self-reported reasons for playing drinking games

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Drinking games are prevalent among college students.
• Understanding motivations for playing drinking games is crucial for addressing associated risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and validate reasons college students engage in drinking games.
• To examine the relationship between these reasons, drinking behavior, and personality traits.

Main Methods:

• Two samples of college students completed questionnaires on drinking behavior, motivations for playing drinking games, and personality.
• Principal components analysis was used to identify underlying factors for motivations.

Main Results:

• Four primary motivations emerged: Relaxation & Disinhibition, Fun & Celebration, Conformity, and Sexual Manipulation.
• Fun & Celebration and Sexual Manipulation strongly predicted game frequency and alcohol consumption.
• Sexual Manipulation predicted predatory sexual behavior in men.
• Conformity and Relaxation & Disinhibition were linked to social anxiety and low assertiveness.

Conclusions:

• Specific reasons for playing drinking games significantly predict alcohol consumption, independent of general drinking motivations.
• Identified motivations have implications for developing targeted prevention strategies for college drinking.
• Assessing situational drinking reasons is a valuable approach for understanding and intervening in problematic alcohol use.