Examining Alcohol-Related Blackouts and Drinking Motives Over Time Among College Women

Excessive alcohol consumption and its consequences among college women continues despite prevention efforts. One common consequence, alcohol-related blackouts (ARBs), are periods of alcohol-activated anterograde amnesia. The purpose of the current project is to extend the ARB and drinking motive literature by examining their relationship over time.

A sample of 424 women (88.9% White) completed online surveys assessing their ARBs and drinking motives weekly for 10 weeks. A series of hierarchical generalized linear models were estimated to examine the between-person and within-person effects of each drinking motive on repeated measures of experiencing a blackout across the time points.

Women who report higher levels of drinking motives compared with others were more likely to report having blackout experiences. College women who reported higher levels of conformity motives did not have increased odds of experiencing a blackout. In weeks when they reported elevated levels of drinking motives, they were also more likely to experience an ARB.

In general, college women who reported higher levels of social, coping, or enhancement motives experienced more blackouts than students who reported lower levels of these motives. Women who were underage were more likely to experience a blackout compared with women who were 21 or older. In a given week, 52.6% to 70.7% of the students consumed alcohol, and among women who drank in a given week, the prevalence of blackouts ranged from 8.5% to 14.6%. The results suggest that changes in motivational levels might provide a possible intervention point for ARBs risk.