title: [Definition of adolescent binge drinking].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Review of the concept of adolescent binge drinking in order to propose an operational definition.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a literature review in the databases MEDLINE and PSYCLIT for the period 1980 to 2009. Through the filter "(binge drinking OR heavy-episodic-drinking) AND (adolescence OR university-students OR college-students)" 80 articles were selected for review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Epidemiological studies that have reported the prevalence of binge drinking show a lack of consensus regarding the operational definition. Alternative approaches have been proposed in relation to the number of standard drink units (SDUs) consumed per occasion, frequency of episodes and their duration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A proper definition of the pattern of intensive alcohol consumption should integrate the quantity and frequency variables, and also take into account the negative consequences associated with it. The criterion most widely accepted by the international scientific community is the consumption of 5 or more SDUs - 4 or more for women - on a single occasion at least once in the last two weeks. However, aspects such as differences in the grams of alcohol of SDUs hinder the establishment of an international definition of the term, making it necessary to adapt this approach to the country in which the study is being carried out.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología Clínica y Psicobiología, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, España. maria.parada@usc.es
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parada
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corral
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caamaño-Isorna
authors.forename: Nayara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crego
authors.forename: Socorro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Holguín
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cadaveira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D009626:Terminology as Topic