“Seems I’m not alone at being alone:” Contributing factors and interventions for drinking games in the college setting

Abstract

Alcohol use among college students is prevalent and sometimes takes the form of drinking games, in which players are required to drink in accordance with a set of pre-defined rules. Drinking games are typically associated with elevated alcohol consumption and risk to the individual. This perspective piece considers the potential role of social anxiety in motivating participation in drinking games, perceived norms surrounding drinking games (including ways they are portrayed and discussed in popular media), and the role of competitiveness. Implications for skills training-based prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

• Alcohol
• college
• drinking games
• intervention

Acknowledgements

Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse R01DA025051 and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism R01AA018276, R01AA016979 and T32AA007459. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any of the funding agencies.