title: Characteristics of predrinking and associated risks: a survey in a sample of German high school students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Finding predictors for predrinking and placing the new phenomenon of predrinking on a greater database. Predrinking is defined as alcohol consumption, alone or with friends, at home or at public places, before going out in the evening to a party or in bars or discotheques.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from a representative sample of 757 ninth- and tenth-grade students from 31 high schools located in a south German rural region and a city.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Predrinkers, especially those who show this behaviour frequently, were notably more likely to engage in hazardous drinking, and experienced significantly more frequent involvements in fights and alcohol-induced blackouts. They also stated more often that they had the intention of getting drunk when consuming alcohol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Predrinking proves to be a high-risk behaviour, particularly when it occurs at a high frequency. This behaviour has to be seen as part of a new youth culture, which does not seem to be limited to a certain subgroup-with all of the associated risks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Freiburg University Medical Center, Hauptstr. 5, 79104, Freiburg, Germany. sonja.wahl@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sonntag
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roehrig
authors.forename: Levente
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kriston
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Berner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data