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How do college students subjectively evaluate "blackouts"?

Jennifer E Merrill1, Mary Beth Miller2, Angelo M DiBello3

  • 1Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States.

Addictive Behaviors
|September 28, 2018
PubMed
Summary

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This summary is machine-generated.

College students often experience alcohol-induced memory impairment, known as blackouts. While typically negative, some students perceive blackouts neutrally or positively due to various influencing factors.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Alcohol-induced memory impairment (blackouts) are prevalent among college students.
  • Blackouts are linked to various negative alcohol-related consequences.
  • Student perceptions of blackouts are not uniformly negative, necessitating further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore college students' subjective evaluations of blackouts.
  • To identify factors influencing the perception of blackouts as negative, neutral, or positive experiences.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted 8 single-gender focus groups with 50 college student drinkers.
  • Utilized applied thematic analysis of verbatim transcripts with NVivo software.
  • Focused questions on subjective evaluations and influencing factors of blackouts.
Keywords:
AlcoholBlackoutCollege studentsContextQualitativeSubjective evaluations

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Blackout evaluations were predominantly negative, but positive, neutral, and mixed reactions were also observed.
  • Influencing factors included normative perceptions and social context, consistent with broader alcohol consequence research.
  • Specific contextual influences on blackout evaluations included pre-blackout events, memory loss severity, post-event knowledge, and expectation of blacking out.

Conclusions:

  • Student perceptions of blackouts are complex and influenced by a range of factors.
  • Understanding these varied perceptions is crucial for addressing alcohol-related harms among college students.
  • Findings highlight why some students may not be concerned about experiencing blackouts.