Assessing and training recognition of intoxication by university students

Forty-five undergraduate volunteers attended either a 2-session recognition of intoxication training program or a 2-session attention-placebo control group. Stimulus videotapes portrayed male and female university students (targets) performing various tasks both before drinking and again after consumption of 3 to 5 standard drinks. Participants' accuracy in recognizing whether videotaped targets had or had not been drinking (target status) was assessed 1 week posttraining and 2 months posttraining. At the 1-week follow-up assessment, participants in the training program had a higher mean number of accurate ratings of target status compared with the attention-placebo control group. In addition, a larger proportion of training-group participants expressed an overall preference to rate a target as not having been drinking if they were unsure of target status. These effects were not maintained at the 2-month follow-up assessment.