Tipsy, trashed, or totalled? Lay understanding of dose-specific alcohol intoxication and the criminal justice system

Figures & data

Table 1. Short-term symptoms experienced by healthy adults following alcohol consumption.

BAC	Symptoms
< .05	Feeling of wellbeing Talkative Relaxed Increased confidence
.05–.08	Impaired judgement Impaired movement Reduced inhibitions
.08–.15	Slurred speech Impaired balance, coordination, vision, and reflexes Unstable emotions Nausea and vomiting
.15–.30	Inability to walk without assistance Sleepiness Difficulty breathing Memory loss Loss of bladder control Possible loss of consciousness
> .30	Coma Death

Note: This is a general guide only. Alcohol affects individuals differently depending on factors including age, gender, height/weight, health, poly-substance use, and tolerance (AGDHAC, 2022b).

Figure 1. Most reported terms by intoxication level with associated language category codes.

Figure 2. Percentage of intoxication term categories by intoxication level.

Figure 3. Standard drink definitions by intoxication level and gender.

Figure 4. BAC definitions by intoxication level.

Figure 5. Most selected symptoms by intoxication level.

Table 2. Linear regressions: The impact of individual differences on intoxication definitions using standard drinks assigned to a male target.

	(log) Standard drinks (Male target)
	Low	Moderate	Severe
Age	b = −.001	b = −.003	b = −.006
	$\beta$ = −.027	$\beta$ = −.154	$\beta$ = −.241
	t(138) = −.310	t(138) = −1.822	t(138) = −2.855
	p = .757	p = .071	p = .005*
Gender	b = .051	b = .015	b = .031
	$\beta$ = .082	$\beta$ = .024	$\beta$ = .041
	t(138) = .981	t(138) = .288	t(138) = .499
	p = .329	p = .774	p = .619
Personal alcohol consumption	b = .032	b = .036	b = .034
	$\beta$ = .274	$\beta$ = .295	$\beta$ = .235
	t(138) = 3.167	t(138) = 3.464	t(138) = 2.775
	p = .002*	p < .001**	p = .006*
Alcohol-related training	b = −.026	b = −.017	b = −.032
	$\beta$ = −.050	$\beta$ = −.031	$\beta$ = −.049
	t(138) = −.581	t(138) = −.371	t(138) = −.593
	p = .562	p = .712	p = .554
Alcohol stigma	b = −.007	b = .003	b = .006
	$\beta$ = −.063	$\beta$ = .025	$\beta$ = .043
	t(138) = −.732	t(138) = .295	t(138) = .511
	p = .465	p = .769	p = .610

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05; ** indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .001. A separate linear regression was performed for each intoxication level (i.e. column). Intoxication definitions in terms of standard drinks were log transformed to account for extreme values.

Table 3. Linear regressions: The impact of individual differences on intoxication definitions using standard drinks assigned to a female target.

	(log) Standard drinks (Female target)
	Low	Moderate	Severe
Age	b = −.001	b = −.004	b = −.006
	$\beta$ = −.049	$\beta$ = −.187	$\beta$ = −.297
	t(138) = −.575	t(138) = −2.182	t(138) = −3.586
	p = .567	p = .031*	p < .001**
Gender	b = .116	b = .095	b = .102
	$\beta$ = .188	$\beta$ = .152	$\beta$ = .154
	t(138) = 2.242	t(138) = 1.814	t(138) = 1.903
	p = .027*	p = .072	p = .059
Personal alcohol consumption	b = .023	b = .024	b = .026
	$\beta$ = .197	$\beta$ = .203	$\beta$ = .208
	t(138) = 2.274	t(138) = 2.345	t(138) = 2.498
	p = .025*	p = .020*	p = .014*
Alcohol-related training	b = − .061	b = −.019	b = −.016
	$\beta$ = −.116	$\beta$ = −.036	$\beta$ = −.028
	t(138) = −1.357	t(138) = −.424	t(138) = −.343
	p = .177	p = .673	p = .732
Alcohol stigma	b = −.002	b = .004	b = .007
	$\beta$ = −.015	$\beta$ = .038	$\beta$ = .051
	t(138) = −.178	t(138) = .441	t(138) = .622
	p = .859	p = .660	p = .535

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05; ** indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .001. A separate linear regression was performed for each intoxication level (i.e. column). Intoxication definitions in terms of standard drinks were log transformed to account for extreme values.

Table 4. Linear regressions: The impact of individual differences on intoxication definitions using BAC.

	(log) BAC
	Low	Moderate	Severe
Age	b = .001	b = .001	b = .001
	$\beta$ = .196	$\beta$ = .074	$\beta$ = .076
	t(138) = 2.218	t(138) = .834	t(138) = .855
	p = .028*	p = .406	p = .394
Gender	b = .011	b = .039	b = .090
	$\beta$ = .069	$\beta$ = .128	$\beta$ = .170
	t(138) = .801	t(138) = 1.467	t(138) = 1.961
	p = .424	p = .145	p = .052
Personal alcohol consumption	b = −.001	b = .004	b = .002
	$\beta$ = −.037	$\beta$ = .066	$\beta$ = .023
	t(138) = −.413	t(138) = .732	t(138) = .257
	p = .680	p = .465	p = .797
Alcohol-related training	b = −.014	b = −.022	b = −.025
	$\beta$ = −.096	$\beta$ = −.084	$\beta$ = −.056
	t(138) = −1.095	t(138) = −.951	t(138) = −.634
	p = .275	p = .343	p = .527
Alcohol stigma	b = .000	b = .005	b = .001
	$\beta$ = .007	$\beta$ = .084	$\beta$ = .010
	t(138) = .080	t(138) = .945	t(138) = .118
	p = .936	p = .346	p = .906

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05. A separate linear regression was performed for each intoxication level (i.e. column). Intoxication definitions in terms of BAC were log transformed to account for extreme values.

Table 5. Ordinal logistic regression: The impact of individual differences on perceived thresholds for alcohol-induced memory impairment in terms of intoxication levels.

	Estimate	OR	p
Age	.001	1.001	.954
Gender	.225	1.252	.589
Personal alcohol consumption	.086	1.090	.297
Alcohol-related training	−.026	.974	.857
Alcohol stigma	.015	1.015	.857

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05.

Table 6. Linear regression: The impact of individual differences on the perceived threshold for alcohol-induced memory impairment in terms of standard drinks.

	b	$\beta$	t(138)	p
Age	−.007	−.233	−2.754	.007*
Gender	−.039	−.043	−.518	.606
Personal alcohol consumption	.038	.218	2.564	.011*
Alcohol-related training	−.031	−.039	−.470	.639
Alcohol stigma	−.004	−.024	−.280	.780

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05. The impairment threshold in terms of standard drinks was log transformed to account for extreme values.

Table 7. Linear regression: The impact of individual differences on the perceived threshold for alcohol-induced memory impairment in terms of BAC.

	b	$\beta$	t(138)	p
Age	.002	.135	1.548	.124
Gender	.048	.102	1.207	.230
Personal alcohol consumption	.004	.044	.506	.613
Alcohol-related training	−.092	−.226	−2.625	.010*
Alcohol stigma	.010	.112	1.296	.197

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05. The impairment threshold in terms of BAC was log transformed to account for extreme values.

Table 8. Ordinal logistic regression: The impact of individual differences on the perceived threshold for alcohol-impaired capacity for sexual consent in terms of intoxication levels.

	Estimate	OR	p
Age	.019	1.019	.601
Gender	−.503	.605	.226
Personal alcohol consumption	.063	1.065	.440
Alcohol-related training	.444	1.559	.217
Alcohol stigma	−.175	.839	.034*

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05.

Table 9. Linear regression: The impact of individual differences on the perceived threshold for alcohol-impaired capacity for sexual consent in terms of standard drinks.

	b	$\beta$	t(138)	p
Age	.002	.051	.580	.563
Gender	.108	.102	1.205	.230
Personal alcohol consumption	.031	.156	1.784	.077
Alcohol-related training	−.027	−.030	−.342	.733
Alcohol stigma	−.034	−.169	−1.952	.053

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05. The impairment threshold in terms of standard drinks was log transformed to account for extreme values.

Table 10. Linear regression: The impact of individual differences on the perceived threshold for alcohol-impaired capacity for sexual consent in terms of BAC.

	b	$\beta$	t(138)	p
Age	.003	.254	2.924	.004*
Gender	.036	.081	.957	.340
Personal alcohol consumption	.004	.050	.574	.567
Alcohol-related training	−.056	−.149	−1.733	.085
Alcohol stigma	−.001	−.016	−.182	.856

Note: * indicates a statistically significant relationship at p < .05. The impairment threshold in terms of standard drinks was log transformed to account for extreme values.

Table 11. Forms of intoxication evidence ordered by perceived usefulness.

Type of evidence	M	SD	At least moderately helpful (%)
Cognitive symptoms	5.62	1.19	97.28
Physical symptoms	5.54	1.23	95.24
Behavioural symptoms	5.44	1.38	91.16
Expert’s interpretation	5.08	1.46	85.04
BAC	4.97	1.92	82.32
Number of standard drinks consumed	4.84	1.41	85.72
Drinking history	4.86	1.64	79.60
Time spent drinking	4.82	1.47	84.36
Emotional symptoms	4.61	1.59	79.59
Score of intoxication out of 10	4.29	1.84	69.40
Verbal description	3.89	1.60	61.90
Judge’s interpretation	3.37	1.46	51.02

Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. (2022b). What are the effects of alcohol? https://www.health.gov.au/topics/alcohol/about-alcohol/what-are-the-effects-of-alcohol.

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Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.