Pregaming: an exploratory study of strategic drinking by college students in Pennsylvania.
OBJECTIVE
This exploratory study examined pre-event drinking, or pregaming, by US college students.


METHODS
112 undergraduates from 10 Pennsylvania colleges participated.


METHODS
A focus group, including a written questionnaire, was conducted at each institution.


RESULTS
Only 35.7% of the participants had not pregamed during the last 2 weeks. Pregamers consumed an average of 4.9 (SD = 3.1) drinks during their most recent session. Gender, class year, and other demographic variables did not predict pregaming. Heavier drinkers, and those stating that the average student pregamed 3+ times in the last 2 weeks, were more likely to report pregaming in the last 2 weeks. How much students drink when pregaming is influenced by how much they expect to drink later on.


CONCLUSIONS
Pregaming presents a growing challenge for campus officials. Additional research is needed on the nature of the problem and which combination of prevention strategies might best address this behavior.
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. wdejong@bu.edu
William
W
DeJong
Beth
B
DeRicco
Shari Kessel
SK
Schneider
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010414:Pennsylvania; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult