The relationship between drunkorexia, alcohol, and blackouts among college students: An exploratory study

College drinkers commonly report blacking out (i.e., alcohol-induced amnesia), and those who drink with the intention to blackout are at risk for harmful consequences. Drunkorexia (i.e., restriction of calories on planned drinking days) is a high-risk behavior potentially associated with blacking out. Informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study explores blackout experiences and intentions to blackout association with drunkorexia. College students (n = 2335) who primarily identified as female and White participated via an online survey. Participants received a $3 coupon for completion of the study. Consistent with the literature, 40% and 60.7% of participants reported experiencing blackouts and drunkorexia, respectively, in the last year. Informed by the TPB, a structural equation model assessed whether more frequent blackout experiences (IV) were related to drunkorexia behaviors (DV1) and alcohol behaviors (DV2), and whether there was a significant indirect effect through blackout intention. The model fit the data well (CFI = .98, TLI = .95), which suggests that more frequent blackout experiences relate to more drunkorexia experiences (R² = .04) and higher levels of alcohol consumption (R² = .44). In addition, the relationship between blackout experiences and drunkorexia flows through intentions to blackout (i.e., a significant indirect effect). Findings are consistent with TPB, which suggests that intentions predict health behavior. Future interventions should consider modifying intentions and other possible TPB constructs to minimize high-risk alcohol consumption and drunkorexia behaviors.