College students’ use of strategies to hide facial flushing: A target for alcohol education

Abstract

Objective

Alcohol-related facial flushing occurs in individuals who are unable to metabolize ethanol effectively and is associated with increased cancer risk. This study describes college students’ understanding of the meaning of flushing for how much alcohol a person should drink and their use of over-the-counter medications and other strategies to reduce its visible effects. Participants: The sample includes 335 White and Asian college students who reported facial flushing after an alcoholic drink. Methods: Students completed an online survey in the spring of their junior year. Results: Most students reported that flushing had no special meaning for drinking or that they did not know what it meant. Six percent reported ever using strategies to hide facial flushing; they were mostly Asian, and those using these strategies drank more alcohol. Conclusions: Findings identify a need for targeted alcohol education with Asian college students who drink alcohol despite experiencing the flushing response.

Keywords:

• Alcohol-related facial flushing
• college students
• flushing suppression strategies
• meaning of flushing

Acknowledgements

We thank the Spit for Science participants for making this study a success, as well as the many University faculty, students, and staff who contributed to the design and implementation of the project.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Additional information

Funding

This work was in part supported by K01AA021145 (Chartier, PI) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Spit for Science has been supported by Virginia Commonwealth University, P20AA017828, R37AA011408, K02AA018755, and P50AA022537 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and UL1RR031990 from the National Center for Research Resources and National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research.