Pre-Drinking before Going to Social Events - Research Paper Example

The function of Pre-drinking before Going to Social Events The function of Pre-drinking before Going to Social EventsIntroduction Pre-drinking or pre-gaming is a common practice among college students, aged between 18-25 years old. It involves taking heavy amounts of alcoholic drinks, in private premises, before going to a social event, or in other licensed drinking premises such as night clubs or bars (Wile, P. 6). In recent the decade, the level of alcohol consumption among the youth has sky rocketed to a record high. Most studies have attributed the high increase to the easily availability of affordable alcohol, and increased pre-drinking events among the youths. In the United States about 38% of college students have at one time reported to be involved in pre-gaming (Stapleton et al, P. 73)). Another study indicated that more than 60% of students in colleges across the United States approve pre-drinking and consider it having more fun and drinking time, and do not associate it with any risk (Myers, P. 47). According to DeJong (p. 103), pre-drinking does not have any relationship with the current level of alcohol consumption problems; neither does it have any relationship to high consumption level at night clubs, and concluded that pre-drinking does not have any close relationship with alcohol consumption in general. However, most studies have indicated pre-gaming having a profound correlation to the level of alcohol consumptions in night clubs, and alcohol related behaviors. And according to Snelling (P. 138), pre-drinking increase 2.5 times alcohol consumptions in night clubs, and significantly increase alcohol related problems, such as fights in night clubs. According to a research by MacLean et al, (P. 27), more than 75% of college students reported to have consumed alcohol in the past month. The study indicated low daily drinking among college students which stood at 5%. However, the same report noted that 34% of about 9 million students in the U.S meet the criteria of alcohol abuse. The study also noted that 56% of the students have engaged in pre-drinking and involved in heavy episodic drinking – more than 5 drinks at one occasion. Stapleton et al (P. 54) conducted a research across European countries, United States and Australia. The study found out that more than two thirds of youths; between 15-25 years have been involved in pre-drinking; and involved having a glass of wine to consuming large volumes of alcohol at private premises. The main focus of this paper is to analyze the reason behind pre-drinking among the youths, and observe the effects. Methods Qualitative Research Qualitative research method was used to conduct the study. It is a method of research used in social sciences to get an in depth understanding of human behavior. Questionnaire and focused groups were used as the most appropriate qualitative methods of understanding pre-gaming among college students. Questionnaire were used because the research intended to reach a large number of participants in 13 institutions in Los Angeles and at the same time get as detailed information as possible about pre-gaming. Six focus groups were picked at random at 13 institutions of higher learning in Los Angeles. Different campuses were selected in order to get participants from different backgrounds, religion, race, location (urban/rural), and from different types of governance. The participants were recruited from two major categories from the institutions; one from a category of student who have previously violated alcohol policy of their institution, and the second category involved participants from the first-year seminar on substance use. The participants comprising the six focus groups mainly came from university students and were primarily voluntary. The main aim of the research was to get the, attitudes, perceptions, and the behavior related to alcohol use from the participants and no penalties were involved in case of any disclosure or failure to disclose information related to alcohol use or the behavior associated with use of alcohol during the research period. There was no compensation to the participants. The focus groups were conducted in March 2014, where each focus group consisted of 4 to 16 members. The research involved the use of structured questionnaire and discussion among the focus groups, which was led by an experienced moderator, and lasted for one hour. None of the members from the participating institution were involved in the six focus groups. Preliminary Questionnaire The first questions asked about basic information: background, race, gender, age, location (in-state, elsewhere in the US or outside the US), student status, class year, current status and employment status. The research used inclusion and exclusion criteria to determine the right category of participants in the research. Those students who records indicated to have completed their studies from any participating institutions were excluded from the sample, and only those indicated that they were continuing their study at Los Angeles campuses were included in the sample. There were only three categories in the question about the origin or race: black, white or Asian. The consumption of alcohol was put in different categories: a) drinking a bottle of beer, b) taking a glass of wine, c) having a shot of liquor, d) taking a tot of spirit, and e) having mixed drinks. The participants were asked how many times they had more than five or more drinks at a single sitting, and were required to respond with either: None, once, 2-5, 6-9, or more than 10. The participants were also tasked to write the amount of drinks they consumed in a week. The other part of the questionnaire involved asking the students about pre-drinking; which was defined as taking alcoholic drinks in a private setting before going out for a party, social event, night clubs, or bars. The participants were asked the number of times they were involved in pre-drinking during the last three weeks. The participants were asked about their perceptions and attitudes about pre-drinking and whether their institution should control the exercise. The last question involved asking the student the last encounter they were involved in pre-drinking and how many drinks did they take at the event. Group Discussion Protocol The questionnaires were collected and taken to the moderator for review. The moderator checked the grounding rules and recorded the information for future review, but those participants who stated that they don’t wish to be recorded were exempted. The participants were asked about their thoughts and feelings about the use of alcohol in their campuses. They were also asked to explain in detail, whether they thought alcohol use had any bad effects on their campus. The moderator was also interested to know how many students took alcohol, and the amount of alcohol they consume. The moderator also asked the participants when they mostly involved in pre-drinking and the coded names for the activity as according to their respective campuses. The participants were also required to describe the types of pre-drinking that they had in their campuses. The moderator asked the participants to describe in details all the things involved in pre-gaming episode and explain if they differ according to occasions: they were required to give their experiences on, the types of alcohol used, the amount taken, speed of drinking, the type of special container used (if any), and the games involved while taking the drinks. The moderator also asked the students the venue where they preferred when pre-drinking, and how they determine their next destination, and whether it affects their behavior or drinking motives while pre-drinking. The moderator also asked the participants about their positive and negative outcomes after pre-drinking, and whether they agree with pre-determined viewpoint that pre-drinking is dangerous. The final question that the moderator asked was about the response of the participants’ campus on pre-drinking activities. The participants were asked if their administrations knew if the activities existed, and what measures they have put in place to control pre-gaming. Results Background characteristics There were a total of 98 focus groups participating from a total of the 13 institutions selected. 54% of the participants were female, and 46 of them were male. Of the total participants, the composition of origin was as follows: 85.6% of them were white, 6.4% black. 4.2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 3.4% American Indian /Alaskan Native and 0.4 others. The study also indicated that about 75% of the participants were below 21 years. It also indicated that about all the participants were single. About 90% of the participants indicated that Los Angeles was their permanent resident, and about 10% of them lived in other states and outside the US. All the participants indicated that they were full-time students. The composition of the participants according to the year of registration showed that; 41.4% were freshman, 20.3 junior, and 14.5% and 23.8% seniors. More than 75% of the participants resided on campus. Less than 40% of the participants had part-time jobs, while the rest of them did not work at all. Alcohol Consumption The participants indicated that only one in six participants (18.3%) of them have not taken more than five drinks per sitting in the last three weeks. The frequency of consumption during this period was: 1-2 times 32% 3-9 times 48.3% more than 10 times 1.4%. The average number of alcoholic drinks that the participants consumed in a week was recorded as follows: 13.2% did not take any drink, 14.7% took 1-3 drinks, 13.6% 4-6 drinks, 23.0% 7-10 drinks, 16.3%11-15 drinks, 11.8% 16-20 and 7.4% more than 20 drinks. Pre-drinking Only 29.6% of the participants did not engage in pre-drinking over the last three weeks. The other participants reported the frequency use of alcohol in pre-drinking the three weeks as follows: 44.8% reported once or twice, and 25.6% 3-9 times. The average amount of times that the participants thought that average students were involved in pre-drinking was estimated as follows: 30.6% once or twice, 66.8% 3-9 times and 2.6% more than 10 times during the last three weeks. The participants also indicated how often their friend in the campus engaged in pre-drinking activities as follows: 3.8% did not participate, 34.7% once or twice, 59.8% 3-9 times, and 1.7% more than 10 times. The participants also indicated that most of them remembered the last time that they were engaged in pre-drinking: the report showed that only 7.6% did not recall a date, while the remaining participant were able to report the exact date when they had their last pre-drinking. On the report about the participants last pre-drinking, only 8.7% of the respondents did not indicate the amount of the drinks they consumed, while 38.9% reported that they consumed more than five drinks during the event, and 52.4% said that they consumed less than five drinks. Group Discussion Pre-drinking was defined as taking of alcoholic drinks in private settings before going to organized events, such as parties, night clubs, or bars, where alcohol might be available or not. According to the participants most of them agreed the definition fitted the activity. But according to most students from the 13 institution selected from Los Angeles pre-drinking was not the common term used, and pre-gaming was used instead. According to internet such most students from the country preferred to use the words, pre-loading or pre-partying. Most of the participants indicated that the reason they were not comfortable to use the term pre-drinking is because they found the term did not capture most of the gaming aspect involved in the activity such as, rapid intake of alcohol with the main purpose of getting intoxicated or becoming “wasted” within a short period. However, some of the participants indicated that the main purpose of pre-gaming was not necessary the volume of alcohol they take, but rather how fast they become “wasted”. Most participants also indicated that it is not necessarily that the pre-gaming must be done in a private setting, but indicated that sometimes the event is done in an open space like, a parking lot, or even outside the main event. Most students indicated that they prefer to hold the activity in private settings, residents’ hall rooms, insides cars and in private apartments. Reasons for Pre-drinking/Pre-gaming According to participants in the research, there are many reasons why young people engage in pre-gaming. Most participants attribute the drinking pattern as one of the main reason they enjoy pre-gaming. Many participants reported their pre-gaming activity as having alcohol in rapid-fire drinking episodes, leading to a point of intoxication or getting “wasted”. One of the interviewed students revealed his experience just after having dressed after just having a shower and getting dress and made five shots of spirits at a go. According to the participant the pace of drinking the shots is determined with the specific starting time of the next event. Other participants reported that the main aim of pre-gaming is not often drinking to a point of intoxication, but rather drinking to a point of relaxing and having a head start before a social event such as a party begins. This category of participants believe that pre-gaming is not about annihilation, but just a platform to start from when they are on a social function such as a party. Some participants believed they preferred to have some number of drinks before going to a party to help them get relaxed and get composed. In most cases the participants said the mode of taking some drinks for relaxation purposes was most common when getting dress for the evening. Some participants viewed taking some drinks before preparing to go out and meet friend as a relaxing idea. One male student said that he takes some couples of cocktail drinks or some beer before getting into the show when he is preparing to go out. According to experienced participants, spirits are more preferred in pre-gaming because of its high alcohol content. But according some participants, they prefer taking beer while going out since it does not have a strong smell and therefore not easily detected when the go out for social events. Another reason that make more youths engage in pre-gaming is because of the games that are usually associated with pre-drinking. There are many games involved in pre-gaming, where the participants have given them a list of names such as circle of deaths, crucifixion, drunk driver among others, which makes the participants to create stronger bonding in parties and other social events. One of the participant revealed that the amount of time to be spent during drinking games depends on the time they have before going to the main event. Some students said pre-gaming was important for them, since they wanted more time to use other drugs that would make them high, because they cannot drink and get high from other substance such as marijuana at the same time. And therefore, pre-drinking to some offers a platform in which some youths meet and get high before going to the main event. Other youths consider pre-gaming as strategic calculation before they go out to organized events. Some participants indicated that it was common for them to have drinks with friends when they have such events like dance, sports games and other events in order to have more vitality and vigor throughout such events. Pre-gaming is considered as strategic by many students. This is because it offers youths a chances to grab some drinks on crucial occasions, where maybe they are cannot be allowed to take some alcoholic drinks on the event they are attending, or the event is crowded making it difficult for them to grab a drink, or there are no drinks available. Another reason suggested by the participants why many people engage in pre-gaming is when they suspect that the event they are attending would be boring. Some people would prefer to take some few drinks in order to liven them up and avoid incidences of being miserable incase the event they are attending is boring. One of the participants was categorical to indicate that you get more fun when you had taken some drinks before going out to the party, even when there is no fun in the party. Some students indicated that pre-gaming was a more secure than drinking in other social events. More female participants suggested that pre-drinking was secure for them because they drink with close friends and people they know and therefore, reduces the chances of being taken advantage when they are drunk, and that their friends can easily organize safer ways of getting home after the party or the event. According to the research many youths pre-game because of different motives. Some find that it is appropriate to have some drinks before going out to later events in order to break the social anxiety. Some participants claimed that if one is going out to an event where he/she suspect that everyone else is already drunk or just about to get drunk, it is then convenient to pre-game so that you don’t appear awkward or uncomfortable. Students consider pre-drinking an important aspect that helps them to socialize and hook up with new friends. Most participants indicated that pre-gaming acted as a social lubricant; and offered male and female students an easy platform to interact without feeling uneasy. Conclusion The research involved thirteen focus groups at colleges in Los Angeles. A total of eighty eight students took part in the study. The result indicated that pre-gaming is very common among college student, and that many of them associate the behavior with positive outcomes. Most students find pre-gaming as an important lubricant to enhance their socialization experience on social events. And many more others feel that pre-gaming enhance bonding of people in social events regardless of many factors such as background, origin, among others. Students consider pre-gaming as a practice that help them to increase enjoyment in social events. However, some of them feel that there are severe consequences involved such as unnecessary fights, blackout, alcohol poisoning, and feel that pre-gaming should be controlled. Works Cited Alcohol in Civil Cases. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Los Angeles Bar Institute, 2004. Sound recording. DeJong, W, B DeRicco, and SK Schneider. "Pregaming: an Exploratory Study of Strategic Drinking by College Students in Los Angeles." Journal of American College Health : J of Ach. 58.4 (2010). Print. Kleiman, Mark, and James Hawdon. Encyclopedia of Drug Policy: "the War on Drugs" Past, Present, and Future. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE, 2011. Internet resource. Top of Form MacLean, Sarah, and Sarah Callinan. "“fourteen Dollars for One Beer!” Pre-Drinking Is Associated with High-Risk Drinking Among Victorian Young Adults." Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 37.6 (2013): 579-585. Print. Molofsky, Lisa J, John A. Connor, Albert S. Wylie, Tom Wagner, and Shahla K. Farhat. "Evaluation of Methane Sources in Groundwater in Northeastern Los Angeles."Groundwater. 51.3 (2013): 333-349. Print. Myers, Tamar. Eat, Drink, and Be Wary. , 1998. Print. Wile, Timothy P, and Marc A. Werlinsky. Los Angeles Driving Under the Influence. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 2000. Continually updated resource. Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Stapleton, Jerod, and Robert Turrisi. Pre-college Matriculation Risk Profiles and Freshman Drinking Trajectories. University Park, Pa.: Los Angeles State University, 2010. Internet resource. Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Snelling, Lauraine, and Alexandra OKarma. Amethyst. Solon, Ohio: Playaway Digital Audio, 2009. Sound recording. Bottom of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Wile, Timothy P, and Marc A. Werlinsky. Los Angeles Driving Under the Influence. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 2000. Continually updated resource. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More