AIMS This study examined the validity of two methods of classifying binge drinkers. METHODS Adult drinkers (n = 166) completed the Alcohol Use Questionnaire (AUQ) and a Timeline Followback (TLFB) interview to characterize drinking during the past 28 days. Using Townshend and Duka's (2005) recommendations, answers on three AUQ items (average drinks per hour, number of times drunk within the pr...

BACKGROUND It is reported that heavy drinking increases the risk of metabolic syndrome. But there have been few studies on the relationship between the intensity of drinking and metabolic syndrome when drinking the same amount of alcohol. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the frequency of binge drinking and metabolic syndrome in Korean adult men. METHODS From the database of...

BACKGROUND To examine the association between age at drinking onset and subsequent binge drinking, and to examine whether there are differences in this association between four countries. METHODS The data consisted of 68,539 women aged 18-47 years randomly selected from the general population in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Frequency of binge drinking, defined as consuming >6 U of alc...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate trends in the past 30-day prevalence of binge drinking by age, sex, and student status, among youths and young adults in the United States between 1979 and 2006, a period that encompasses the federally mandated transition to a uniform legal drinking age of 21 years, and other policy changes aimed at curbing underage drinking. METHOD Data were analyzed from 20 administrat...

Acculturation to U.S. society has been associated with an increase in drinking and binge drinking among Hispanics. This paper examines the association between acculturation and three drinking-related outcomes: average number of drinks consumed, binge drinking, and drinking 12 drinks or more in a single day in four major Hispanic national groups. The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Surv...

Binge drinking is a substantial and growing health problem. Community norms about drinking and drunkenness may influence individual drinking problems. Using data from the New York Social Environment Study (n = 4,000) conducted in 2005, the authors examined the relation between aspects of the neighborhood drinking culture and individual alcohol use. They applied methods to address social stratif...

OBJECTIVE To examine the extent of binge drinking by college students and the ensuing health and behavioral problems that binge drinkers create for themselves and others on their campus. DESIGN Self-administered survey mailed to a national representative sample of US 4-year college students. SETTING One hundred forty US 4-year colleges in 1993. PARTICIPANTS A total of 17,592 college stude...

OBJECTIVE We investigated whether research on stereotype priming effects can increase understanding of binge drinking among young people. Four studies tested whether evaluations of the binge drinker stereotype have a direct and automatic effect on binge drinking behavior, and whether a self-regulation intervention can overcome stereotype effects on drinking behavior. METHODS Studies 1a and 1b...

BACKGROUND Although binge drinking prevalence and correlates among young people have been extensively studied in the USA and Northern Europe, less is known for Southern Europe countries with relatively healthier drinking cultures. OBJECTIVE We aimed at analyzing prevalence and correlates of binge drinking in a representative sample of young adults in Italy. METHODS We conducted a cross-sect...

This study examines the relation between acculturation and alcohol consumption patterns among older Asian and Hispanic immigrants in the state of California. Data were obtained from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey and included Asian (n = 1264) and Hispanic (n = 571) adults aged 60 and older who were born outside of the US. Outcome variables included presence of past year alcohol con...