Similarities and differences in general drinking game behavior, game-specific behavior, and peer influence factors...

Research on college student drinking game (DG) behavior indicates that White students play DGs more often than students from other races/ethnicities. Among DG players, the risk for negative outcomes is the same. We examined DG-specific (e.g., motor skills, gambling games) behaviors and peer influence factors across race/ethnicity in order to elucidate commonalities among risk factors. Men (N = 248; 18-30 years; 77% college students) who played DGs and lived in the Boston metro area completed our online survey. White men (WM; n = 167) were more likely to play motor skills (e.g., Beer Pong) and media games, and to consume beer during DGs, compared with Men of Color (MOC; n = 81). MOC reported consuming shots more often during DG play. Compared with Asian/Pacific Islander (14.9%, n = 37) and Black/African American (6.0%, n = 15) men, Hispanic/Latino (8.5%, n = 21) played DGs more frequently and reported a higher maximum numbers of drinks consumed during DGs. There were, however, far more similarities than differences across groups, including location of play, frequency of play, and quantity consumed for the 4 other DG types. WM reported more positive peer norms for drinking; however, there were no differences in levels of perceived peer pressure. MOC reported that DGs were played only on weekends where they live, whereas WM reported that DGs were played on weekdays and weekends. Additional research is needed with larger sample sizes to further our understanding of the unique contextual and peer risk factors for MOC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).