Sociodemographic Expenditure of Alcohol - Research Paper Example

Consumption of Alcohol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Abstract Consumption of energy drinks with alcohol has become a common phenomenon among college students. The study sought to document the extent and pattern of such consumption amongst undergraduate in Macquarie University. Survey questions were administered to 851 participants. They completed the questionnaire with demographic information and participants’ consumption behavior. With several researches having been carried out in the past, this research report goes past the previous done reports by examining the problems of alcohol consumption with energy drinks. Eighty per cent of the participants reported to consuming alcohol with energy drinks regularly, that is, within 30 days while, 20 per cent of the participants reported to not consuming alcohol regularly, that is, not consuming alcohol every month. These students are healthy and risk takers as observed in this research report. This report looks in to the problems of consuming alcohol with high-energy drinks amongst undergraduate in Macquarie University, Australia. Table of Contents Table of Contents iii 1.1 The drinking pattern; energy drinks consumption with alcohol 1 2.0 Method 3 2.1 Materials 5 2.2 Procedure 5 3.0 Results 6 4.0 Discussion 8 5.0 Conclusions 12 6.0 References 13 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The drinking pattern; energy drinks consumption with alcohol Consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks has become a popular practice among young adults and adolescents (Heinz, de Wit, Lilje & Kassel, 2013). The pattern of behavior has become common to young people who have always wanted to celebrate for longer periods of time. There have been questions of how safe the behavior is. It has been noted that those who mix both alcohol and energy drinks are prone to excessive consumption. The reaction of stimulants from energy drinks and the effects of alcohol is feared to be harmful or to an extent lethal (de Haan, et al 2012). The combination of the two drinks leads to reduced perception of intoxication. There are a number of concerns that arise from the behavior. Among the most indicated is potential increase in maladaptive drinking behaviors, negative physiological intoxication and psychological side effects as well as risky behavior outcomes (Peacock, Bruno & Martin, 2012). The following study was carried in Macquarie University to investigate the drinking patterns for energy drinks mixed with alcohol. Heinz, de Wit, Lilje & Kassel (2013) study results found out that, despite the significant increase in alcohol consumption in AmED sessions in comparison with alcohol sessions, there were lower outcomes of participants experiencing dis-inhibition or engaging in risky behaviors relative to alcohol sessions. Co-ingestion was therefore found to impact the consumers by increasing alertness through increased stimulation of energy drinks but overstimulation would have some psychological effects. Brache & Stockwell (2011) observes that, the reports from marketing practices have suggested that caffeine counteract the intoxicating effects of alcohol but the use of energy drink does not reduce alcohol-induced effects in a significant way. College students that have consumed alcohol and energy drinks are noted to cause higher risk and adverse consequences. Miller (2012) study examined the co-influence and several behaviors noted with young adults taking caffeinated energy drink and alcohol and the resultant sexual risk-taking. Three sexual risk behaviors; casual sex, intoxicated sex and protected sex were observed. AmED use had an elevated causal and intoxicated sex. It concluded that the use of alcohol mixed with energy drinks was a possible risk that leads to potentially health-comprising patterns and sexual behaviors. Where young people account for over half of new HIV cases, unprotected sex and causal partner can expose AmED users to STIs. One in six users among the female participants reported having unprotected sex due to her drinking behaviors. In Berger, et al. (2011) study, caffeinated alcoholic beverage consumption, a phenomenon that is rapidly growing among young adults was associated with a number of health risks. O’Brien, et al. (2008) also indicated an elevated risk results from continued drinking, reduction of perceived intoxication and a maintained desire for continued drinking. However, the expectation of caffeine consumption can reduce the attention to alcohol effects. Highly caffeinated drinks increases dehydration risks which lead to diarrhea, vomiting, headache, nausea, muscle cramp and increased heart rates (Schry & Norberg, 2013). The combination of both the caffeine stimulant and alcohol depressant also send mixed signals to nervous system and the risk of cardiovascular problem and sleep disturbances can result (Velazquez, Poulos, Latimer & Pasch, 2012). One of the issues that have been commonly observed across all the above studies is the effects of combined alcohol and the energy drinks in reducing perception or feelings of alcohol intoxication. The effect, highly lead to increased consumption which lead to impaired judgment and reduces the capacity of decision-making. 2.0 Method The participants (n=851) consisted of psychology students from Macquarie University. The larger percentage of participants 79.3% (675) were Australian born, with 10 from Indigenous/Torres Strait Islander while 20.7% (176) were not born in Australia. Gender differences were significant with 237 male and 614 female. Among the participants, 503 were single, 347 in a relationship and one was in other category. Where you born in Australia? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid No, I was not born in 92 16.9 16.9 16.9 Australia. Yes, I was born in 453 83.1 83.1 100.0 Australia. Total 545 100.0 100.0 Sex: Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Male 157 28.8 28.8 28.8 Female 388 71.2 71.2 100.0 Total 545 100.0 100.0 2.1 Materials The research was conducted through a survey and was designed to indicate the students’ consumption of energy drinks mixed with alcohol. It consisted of 8 questions where 4 were personal; dealing with place of birth, gender and relationship while the other four dealt with the topic issue. 235 out of 851 indicated that they had ever drunk an energy drink mixed with alcohol and 159 had done so between July 22nd and August 4th 2013. 4 out of 8 questions specifically dealt with energy drink mixed or without alcohol. 2.2 Procedure Surveys were administered to all the 851 participants during tutorial sessions throughout the week. They were required to provide a Yes or No answer in response to the question, which indicated the pattern of their consumption. A total of 851 participants completed the survey fully. The sample of the university students had different sex demographics; there were more female participants than male participants. As the respondents indicated, consuming amED was related to taking high risks in behavior wise, those who consumed amED took high risk measures than those participants who did not consume it. The participants also mixed the alcohol with high-energy drinks. The subsequent regression analysis indicated that the participants, who were indigenous in Australia and younger, were more likely to consume amED in the last one month. 3.0 Results Among all the participants who took part in this research, 85 per cent responded that they consumed alcohol on a monthly basis, that is, they had taken alcohol for the last one month. The other fifteen per cent reported to consuming alcohol irregularly, that is, not monthly. Among those who does not consume monthly, 20 per cent had not consumed alcohol for the last one month. The other 80 per cent had consumed alcohol for the last one month. Univariate association between the consumption of amED and sexual behaviors was observed. According to the responses given by the respondents, this is attributed to having sex after consuming too much alcohol and energy drinks. This resulted in having unprotected sex as well. The respondents who reported to consuming amED also reported to having more unprotected sex after consuming alcohol.   Mean Std. Deviation Age:-Slide the arrow 20.4935 5.56129 across to indicate your     age in years.     How much do you weigh 64.2873 13.18349 in kilograms?-Weight in     Kilograms     If yes, on how many 2.3191 2.12742 different days did you can     consume an energy drink     between July 22nd and     August...-Number of Days     When you combined 5.7044 2.16869 energy drinks with alcohol,     from July 22nd to August     4th 2013, how stimulated     di...-Degree of Stimulation     Valid N (listwise)     Though chi square statistics were important at x2(851) =331.477, p Read More