Drinking games as a venue for sexual competition

The Relationship Between Men's Sociosexuality, Drinking Intake, and Blackouts

Background: Sociosexuality-attitudes, behaviors, and desires related to casual sex-partly predicts drinking behavior in both men and women because drinking is thought to facilitate interactions that lead to casual sex. It follows that sociosexuality would predict drinking intake (e.g., quantity consumed)-but perhaps not drinking consequences (e.g., blacking out)-on the premise that drinking large quantities with high frequency (but not to such high degrees/levels of intoxication that negative consequences occur) would facilitate casual sex. Objectives: This set of studies evaluated whether baseline measures of sociosexuality predict drinking intake (i.e., frequency, quantity, and binge drinking) but not experiencing blacking out at follow-up in two samples (Study 1, N = 172; Study 2, N = 1,038) of college-aged men. Results: As predicted, men's sociosexuality prospectively predicted drinking frequency, quantity, and binge drinking. Contrary to our predictions, men's sociosexuality also predicted blacking out. Conclusions: College men's drinking interventions should be tailored to high-risk groups and consider individual differences like sociosexuality.

Drinking games among university students in five countries: Participation rates, game type, contexts, and motives to play

Most published studies, regarding students' participation in drinking games (DGs), originate from the United States of America (USA). This study extends research to the United Kingdom (UK) and countries of mainland Europe. University students from five countries completed an anonymous online questionnaire which included measures of the frequency of DG participation, along with types, contexts and motives for participation. Responses are compared by the gender, and country of domicile of the participants. The study is based on the results of the questionnaire administered to 306 Social Work students from five universities/countries of which 72.2% are females, with a mean age of 22.6 years. This included students in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA. A high proportion of students, irrespective of gender, or country of domicile, stated that they participated in DGs. To 'meet people' and 'to get drunk' are the most important reasons stated for DG participation. Less benign motives, to 'control others' or 'get other people drunk', are reported as 'not important'. The most common types of DGs were consumption and team DGs. The pre-partying involved in DGs and associated consequences show important targets in alcohol harm minimization interventions. Harm minimization/public health messages regarding safer drinking need to recognize that younger students often feel they are immortal and do not fully appreciate risks and adverse effects of DGs and drink to have fun and be sociable.

How Risk Signaling Influences Binge Drinking Impression Formation: An Evolutionary Experimental Approach

Background. Evolutionary theory-driven alcohol prevention programs for adolescents are lacking. This study introduced a binge drinking impression formation paradigm to test whether emphasizing sexual dysfunction induced by alcohol abuse lowers positive attitudes and expectancies related to binge drinking when compared with cognitive or long-term health consequences. Method. In a between-subjects experiment, 269 French high school students (age, M = 15.94, SD = 0.93, 63.20% women) watched professional-quality videos emphasizing sexual impotence (n = 60), cognitive impairment (n = 72), or long-term effects (cancer, cardiovascular disease, n = 68) induced by alcohol and then had to evaluate a drinking scene. We predicted that the video on impotence would be the most impactful when compared with the other videos. Results. Results showed that women evaluated the target as less attractive after viewing the cognitive video compared with the video on impotence. Men were more willing to play sports against the target after viewing the cognitive video, compared with the video on impotence. Conclusions. These results showed that evolutionary meaning might shape impressions formed by participants depending on the context. This study calls for further replications using the same design and materials.

Sociosexuality and Sex With New Partners: Indirect Effects Via Drinking at Parties and Bars

OBJECTIVE

The desire for many novel, concurrent, uncommitted sex partners (i.e., unrestricted sociosexuality) may encourage individuals to seek out contexts that facilitate casual sex. We tested a model in which the effects of sociosexuality on sex with new partners were mediated via drinking in specific contexts. We hypothesized that drinking at parties and bars, which are known to facilitate casual sex (but not drinking at home), would contribute to sex with new (but not with previous) partners.

METHOD

Participants were 427 male freshmen from a large, public northeastern university. They completed a baseline survey in their first semester followed by 56 days of daily reports on drinking and sexual activity during their second semester.

RESULTS

As predicted, sociosexuality measured at baseline positively predicted occasions of sex with a new partner, but not sex with a previous partner. In support of the model, effects were partially mediated by frequency of drinking at parties and bars across the 56-day reporting period, but not by drinking at home.

CONCLUSIONS

Previous research has demonstrated associations among sociosexuality, drinking, and casual sex. Our study is unique in suggesting that drinking in specific contexts--that is, drinking at parties and bars, but not drinking at home--partially mediates the effects of sociosexuality on sex with new partners. This pathway suggests that men with a desire for many novel, concurrent, uncommitted sex partners seek out drinking contexts as a way of facilitating these encounters.

Test-Retest Reliability of the 7-Factor Motives for Playing Drinking Games Scale and its Associations With Drinking Game Behaviors Among Female College Athletes

Drinking games (DGs) participation is prevalent among college-attending emerging adults. Research also suggests that student-athletes play DGs more frequently than non student-athletes, but what motivates student-athletes to participate in DGs is not well understood. Using data from a larger longitudinal study with Division III female athletes, we examined the test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change of the revised 7-factor Motives for Playing Drinking Games (MPDG) measure, and explored how its subscales were related to DGs behavior across two annual timepoints (n = 49). Results indicated that the MPDG shows adequate test-retest reliability over a one year period among student-athletes. Controlling for age and general alcohol consumption, conformity motives were positively associated with DG consumption at timepoint 1, whereas the DG motives of enhancement/thrills and boredom were positively related to DG consumption at timepoint 2. Implications for future research directions on motives for playing DGs and DGs behavior among student-athletes are discussed.

Operational Sex Ratio Predicts Binge Drinking Across U.S. Counties

Previous research suggests that binge drinking among young men serves as a "costly signal" to potential mates, such that the binge drinker is capable of bearing the harmful consequences of alcohol consumption. Here, we propose that binge drinking among young adults is conditionally dependent upon the signaler's willingness to take risks, which is influenced by the local operational sex ratio (OSR). Using archived binge drinking estimates from 2009 to 2012 and Census Bureau records of OSRs, we tested the relationship between OSR and binge drinking rates at the county level across 3,143 U.S. counties against hypotheses drawn from evolutionary theory. Results from our mixed-effects models revealed that a higher overall OSR (i.e., more eligible men compared to women) was associated with higher male binge drinking rates but lower female binge drinking rates. A higher OSR particularly in the 20-29 and 50+ age groups predicted higher male binge drinking rates but lower female binge drinking rates. Our findings generally support predictions derived from evolutionary theory and suggest that binge drinking may function as a costly sexual signal, conditionally regulated by age and the local sex ratio.

Genetic Epidemiology of Liability for Alcohol-Induced Blacking and Passing Out

BACKGROUND

Individuals differ in their sensitivity to alcohol's physiological effects, including blacking and passing out. Blackouts are periods of impaired memory formation when an individual engages in activities they later cannot recall, while passing out results in loss of consciousness.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 3,292 adult twins from the Australian Twin Registry. Univariate twin analyses were conducted to examine the contributions of genetic and environmental influences to blacking and passing out occurrence and susceptibility (accounting for frequency of intoxication). Evidence for shared etiology of susceptibility to blacking and passing out was examined using bivariate twin analyses.

RESULTS

Although blacking and passing out were strongly associated (odds ratio (OR) = 4.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): [3.85, 5.14]), the genetic epidemiology was quite different. Genetic (43%) and nonshared environmental (57%) influences contributed to liability for blackout occurrence. For passing out occurrence, there was evidence of sex differences. Among men, genetic (32%) and nonshared environmental (68%) influences contributed, whereas among women, there were shared (29%) and nonshared environmental (72%) influences. After accounting for frequency of intoxication, genetic influences on blackout susceptibility remained significant; in contrast, only nonshared environmental influences were significant for passing out susceptibility. There was evidence for overlapping genetic and nonshared environmental factors influencing susceptibility to blacking and passing out among men; among women, there were overlapping nonshared environmental influences.

CONCLUSIONS

Blacking and passing out are 2 common sedative-like effects of heavy drinking, and people differ considerably in their susceptibility to these effects. This study suggests that differences in blackout susceptibility can be explained by genetic factors in both men and women, while differences in susceptibility to pass out after consuming alcohol may be attributable to environmental influences, particularly among women. These environmental factors may include changing social and cultural norms about alcohol use, drinking context, and the type(s) of alcohol consumed.

Understanding Drinking Game Behaviors: A Consideration of Alcohol Expectancies and Motives to Play and Drink

Drinking motives have been theorized as "the final common pathway" to alcohol use, and have been found to be associated with certain drinking patterns and related outcomes. Given the importance of the context in which people drink, researchers have also begun to pay close attention to motives that are specific to participation in a drinking game. The present study builds on this burgeoning body of work by testing how sociability and liquid courage alcohol outcome expectancies and valuations are indirectly associated with drinking game behaviors by way of drinking game motives. Participants consisted of 686 students from eight U.S. colleges/universities (ages 18-23, mean age = 19.45; 73.8% female; 68.2% white) who completed a self-report questionnaire which asked about drinking game behaviors and motives for playing, alcohol outcome expectancies and valuations, general drinking motives, and typical alcohol use. Controlling for demographics, general drinking motives, and typical alcohol use, results indicated that liquid courage (alcohol outcome expectancies) and sociability (alcohol outcome expectancies and valuations) were indirectly associated with drinking game behaviors by way of enhancement/thrills and social lubrication motives for playing drinking games, respectively. Findings suggest that motives specific to playing drinking games operate similarly to general drinking motives as the "final common pathway" to drinking game behaviors. Implications for motivation-matched and expectancy challenge strategies aimed at reducing drinking games participation on college campuses are discussed.

Is Support of Censoring Controversial Media Content for the Good of Others? Sexual Strategies and Support of Censoring Pro-Alcohol Advertising

At least in the United States, there are widespread concerns with advertising that encourages alcohol consumption, and previous research explains those concerns as aiming to protect others from the harm of excessive alcohol use.1 Drawing on sexual strategies theory, we hypothesized that support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising is ultimately self-benefiting regardless of its altruistic effect at a proximate level. Excessive drinking positively correlates with having casual sex, and casual sex threatens monogamy, one of the major means with which people adopting a long-term sexual strategy increase their inclusive fitness. Then, one way for long-term strategists to protect monogamy, and thus their reproductive interest is to support censoring pro-alcohol advertising, thereby preventing others from becoming excessive drinkers (and consequently having casual sex) under media influence. Supporting this hypothesis, three studies consistently showed that restricted sociosexuality positively correlated with support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising before and after various value-, ideological-, and moral-foundation variables were controlled for. Also as predicted, Study 3 revealed a significant indirect effect of sociosexuality on censorship support through perceived media influence on others but not through perceived media influence on self. These findings further supported a self-interest analysis of issue opinions, extended third-person-effect research on support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising, and suggested a novel approach to analyzing media censorship support.

Human mating strategies: from past causes to present consequences

In both humans and nonhuman animals, mating strategies represent a set of evolutionary adaptations aimed at promoting individual fitness by means of reproduction with the best possible partners. Given this critical role, mating strategies influence numerous aspects of human life. In particular, between-sex divergence in the intensity of intrasexual competition could account for robust cross-cultural sex differences in psychology and behavior (e.g., personality, psychiatric disorders, social behavior, violence). Several other factors (including individual differences, relationship type and environment) affect-in an evolutionarily consistent manner-variation in mating strategy that individuals pursue (as one example, awareness of one's own attractiveness impinges on mating standards). Here we provide an overview of relevant theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence on variation in mating strategies. Given its multifaceted nature and intense research interest over several decades, this is a challenging task, and we highlight areas where further investigation is warranted in order to achieve a clearer picture and resolve apparent inconsistencies. However, we suggest that addressing outstanding questions using a variety of different methodological approaches, a deeper understanding of the cognitive representations involved in mating strategies is within reach. WIREs Cogn Sci 2018, 9:e1456. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1456 This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Neuroscience > Behavior Neuroscience > Cognition.

Does Alcohol Catch the Eye? Investigating Young Adults' Attention to Alcohol Consumption

Many studies on young adults' motivations for drinking overlook the symbolic aspects of alcohol use. However, research indicates that young adults' alcohol consumption is also driven by signaling motivations. Although the interest of a receiver is a necessary prerequisite of a signal, no previous studies have verified whether drinking behavior indeed attracts young adults' attention. Therefore, we conducted two studies. A two-part eye-tracking study ( N1 = 135, N2 = 140) showed that both young men and young women pay special visual attention to male and female drinking behavior. Additionally, a recall experiment ( N = 321) confirmed that observed male and female drinking is better remembered than observed nonsignaling, functional behavior. Moreover, alcoholic beverages also receive special attention, as they were recalled better than other functional products, and also nonalcoholic drinks similar in color and shape. In summary, the experiments clearly showed that male and female drinking behavior can be used as a signal, as both behaviors clearly function as an attention-attracting cue. Additionally, as alcoholic beverages draw more attention than nonalcoholic drinks, this attention is clearly linked to the alcohol element of the drinking behavior.

Validation of a Seven-Factor Structure for the Motives for Playing Drinking Games Measure

Playing drinking games can be characterized as a high-risk drinking activity because games are typically designed to promote heavy alcohol consumption. While research suggests that young adults are motivated to play drinking games for a variety of reasons (e.g., for thrills/fun, for the competition), the Motives for Playing Drinking Games measure has received limited empirical attention. We examined the psychometric properties of this measure with a confirmation sample of young adults recruited from Amazon's MTurk ( N = 1,809, ages 18-25 years, 47% men; 41% not currently enrolled in college) and a validation sample of college students ( N = 671; ages 18-23 years; 26% men). Contrary to the 8-factor model obtained by Johnson and Sheets in a study published in 2004, examination of the factor structure with our confirmation sample yielded a revised 7-factor model that was invariant across race/ethnicity and college student status. This model was also validated with the college student sample. In the confirmation sample, enhancement/thrills and sexual pursuit motives for playing drinking games were positively associated with gaming frequency/consumption and negative gaming consequences. Furthermore, conformity motives for playing drinking games were positively associated with negative gaming consequences, while competition motives were positively associated with gaming frequency. These findings have significant implications for research and prevention/intervention efforts.

Drinking High Amounts of Alcohol as a Short-Term Mating Strategy: The Impact of Short-Term Mating Motivations on Young Adults' Drinking Behavior

Previous research indicates that drinking large quantities of alcohol could function as a short-term mating strategy for young adults in mating situations. However, no study investigated whether this is actually the case. Therefore, in this article, the link between short-term mating motivations and drinking high amounts of alcohol is tested. First, a survey study ( N = 345) confirmed that young adults who engage in binge drinking are more short-term oriented in their mating strategy than young adults who never engage in binge drinking. Also, the more short-term-oriented young adults were in their mating strategy, the more often binge drinking behavior was conducted. In addition, an experimental study ( N = 229) empirically verified that short-term mating motivations increase young adults' drinking behavior, more so than long-term mating motivations. Results of the experiment clearly showed that young men and young women are triggered to drink more alcoholic beverages in a short-term mating situation compared to a long-term mating situation. Furthermore, the mating situation also affected young adults' perception of drinking behavior. Young adults in a short-term mating context perceived a higher amount of alcoholic beverages as heavy drinking compared to peers in a long-term mating context. These findings confirm that a high alcohol consumption functions as a short-term mating strategy for both young men and young women. Insights gained from this article might be of interest to institutions aimed at targeting youth alcohol (ab)use.

Female Cigarette and Alcohol Consumption as a Short-Term Mating Strategy

In developed countries, the traditional gender gap in youth smoking and drinking is closing. As tobacco and alcohol are more harmful to women than to men, this is an alarming trend. As men are generally more short-term oriented in their sexuality than women, and given that cigarette and alcohol use are still considered masculine behaviors, we explored if female smoking and drinking can function as a short-term mating strategy. By means of a between-subjects experiment ( N = 218), men’s perceptions of female smoking and drinking were studied. The experiment showed that young men perceive women who use cigarettes and alcohol as being more sexually unrestricted. Furthermore, tobacco and (especially) alcohol use brought some short-term attractiveness benefits to women. In short-term mating contexts, drinking enhanced women’s attractiveness, whereas occasional smoking was found equally desirable as not smoking. However, in long-term mating contexts, frequent drinking and all smoking behavior harmed women’s desirability. A follow-up study ( N = 202) confirmed men’s perceptions, showing that female users of tobacco and alcohol are indeed more short-term oriented in their sexuality. Overall, results indicate that female smoking and drinking can operate as a short-term mating strategy.

Drinking game participation, gender performance and normalization of intoxication among Nigerian university students

Background

Most research on drinking games (DGs) and the associated risks focuses on Western countries. In the Nigerian context, DGs activity has not attracted scholarly attention but growing media reports indicate that Nigerian youths play DGs, and that a number of gamers have died during or immediately after game-playing.

Methods

Drawing on gender performance scripts, we explored the performance of gender through DGs practices and the factors that motivate DGs participation. Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with male and female college students (aged 19–23 years) at a university in south-eastern Nigeria.

Results

The participants discussed the popularity of the DGs that students play on this campus, identifying the spaces where each game is played and the motivations for game-playing. Collective, contextual constructions of gender identities through ‘Fastest-Drinker’ DG were identified, and the participants also performed gender through ‘Truth-or-Dare’ and ‘Endurance’ DGs. Men dominated ‘First-to-Finish’ DGs, which are played at parties and bars, and consumed beer or stout, while women, who mainly played Truth-or-Dare games, drank spirits or sweetened alcoholic beverages. Boredom and fun seeking provoked game-playing among women while adherence to masculinity norms, which engendered the public performance of masculinity and gambling activities, motivated men to play DGs. To avoid ‘collective shame’, men's friendship groups provided support/care for inebriated game-playing members, but the immediacy of this support/care varied according to DGs type.

Conclusion

DGs appear to normalize heavy drinking and the culture of intoxication on this campus. Measures to monitor alcohol sales outlets around campuses and interventions that target students' leisure spaces should be developed.

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First study to explore the roles drinking games play in alcohol consumption of Nigerian students

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Reveals collective and contextual gender performance through drinking games practices

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Reveals that drinking games participation and alcoholic beverages consumed during games are gendered

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Reveals necessity for alcohol control measures to be developed and implemented

The Young Male Cigarette and Alcohol Syndrome

Despite the many health risks of tobacco and alcohol use, high levels of smoking and drinking are being persisted. Moreover, young men engage more in these behaviors as compared to women. As male physical risk-taking behavior gains attractiveness in short-term mating contexts and given that smoking and drinking have considerable physical costs, this study explores the possibility that tobacco and alcohol use is part of a male short-term mating strategy. By means of a between-subjects experiment (N = 239), women’s perceptions of young male smoking and drinking were investigated. The experiment showed that women perceive men who smoke and drink as being more short-term oriented in their sexuality than nonusers. Moreover, both tobacco and (especially) alcohol use brought some attractiveness benefits in short-term mating contexts. A follow-up study (N = 171) confirmed that men’s behavior corresponds with women’s perceptions. Overall, these findings show that cigarette and alcohol use can operate as a short-term mating strategy.

Sexually selected sex differences in competitiveness explain sex differences in changes in drinking game participation

Drinking games are a risk factor for behavioral and health problems among university students. Previous cross-sectional research by Hone, Carter, and McCullough (2013) replicated well-established sex differences in drinking game behaviors (i.e., that men are more active drinking game participants than are women) and university drinking problems more generally. Hone et al. (2013) also found that these male-specific behavioral patterns are attributable in part to the fact that men's generally unrestricted sexual strategies, plus their social competitiveness, motivate them to participate in drinking games to display their fortitude and compete with same-sex rivals. Here, the authors conducted a study to evaluate with greater causal rigor whether sex differences in sexual restrictedness and social competitiveness-and sex differences in motivations for participating in drinking games in particular-are partially responsible for the sex differences in university students' drinking game behaviors and drinking problems. Sex differences in changes in frequency of drinking game participation were partially mediated by competitive motivations for participating in drinking games and by the effects of social competitiveness on competitive drinking game motivation. These findings lend additional support to the proposition that participation in drinking games is motivated in part by their suitability as a venue for sexual competition in university students' day-to-day lives.

Sexually selected sex differences in competitiveness explain sex differences in changes in drinking game participation

Drinking games are a risk factor for behavioral and health problems among university students. Previous cross-sectional research by Hone, Carter, and McCullough (2013) replicated well-established sex differences in drinking game behaviors (i.e., that men are more active drinking game participants than are women) and university drinking problems more generally. Hone et al. (2013) also found that these male-specific behavioral patterns are attributable in part to the fact that men's generally unrestricted sexual strategies, plus their social competitiveness, motivate them to participate in drinking games to display their fortitude and compete with same-sex rivals. Here, the authors conducted a study to evaluate with greater causal rigor whether sex differences in sexual restrictedness and social competitiveness-and sex differences in motivations for participating in drinking games in particular-are partially responsible for the sex differences in university students' drinking game behaviors and drinking problems. Sex differences in changes in frequency of drinking game participation were partially mediated by competitive motivations for participating in drinking games and by the effects of social competitiveness on competitive drinking game motivation. These findings lend additional support to the proposition that participation in drinking games is motivated in part by their suitability as a venue for sexual competition in university students' day-to-day lives.

'What a man can do, a woman can do better': gendered alcohol consumption and (de)construction of social identity among young Nigerians

BACKGROUND

The misuse of alcohol and other drugs among young people, especially students, is a growing global phenomenon. In traditional Nigerian society, different locally-produced alcoholic beverages served complex roles but were mainly consumed among adult males for pleasure. Though adult females in some communities consumed alcohol, the practice of drinking was culturally controlled. In contemporary Nigeria, available quantitative studies reveal changing patterns of alcohol use amongst youth but fail to unravel the social variables that motivate alcohol use among this group.

METHODS

Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with 31 (22 males and 9 females, aged 19-23 years) undergraduate students attending a university located in a metropolitan city in Anambra State, south-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected and analysed to generate themes with the aid of Nvivo 10 software.

RESULTS

There appears to be a resilient socio-cultural belief in which men see alcohol as 'good for males' while the females in contrast believe that alcohol does not discriminate according to gender and should be drunk by both males and females. Findings also point to the ways in which male-gendered drinking behaviours, such as heavy or fast drinking are employed by women to develop social capital.

CONCLUSIONS

These results do suggest how gendered constructions of alcohol consumption create risks for both men and women, how they negotiate and ameliorate those risks, and how women challenge gender roles through their use of alcohol. Some focus on formulating evidence-based policies and comprehensively evaluated campaigns are needed to disseminate information about the risks and potential consequences of heavy alcohol consumption in order to promote safer alcohol use by young people.

Frequency of drinking games participation and alcohol-related problems in a multiethnic sample of college students: do gender and ethnicity matter?

INTRODUCTION

A drinking game (DG) is a high-risk, social drinking activity that consists of certain rules (i.e., when to drink and how much to consume) designed to promote inebriation and that requires each player to perform a cognitive and/or motor task (Zamboanga et al., 2013). Research suggests that non-White or female students who play DGs are at an increased risk of experiencing alcohol-related problems. Thus, this study examined whether the associations between DG participation and alcohol-related problems were similar for men and women and across ethnic groups.

METHOD

College students (N=7409; 73% women; 64% White, 8% Black, 14% Hispanic, 14% Asian) from 30 U.S. colleges/universities completed self-report questionnaires.

RESULTS

Controlling for age, site, Greek membership (i.e., membership in a fraternity or sorority), and typical alcohol consumption, results indicated that the association between DG participation and alcohol-related problems was stronger for men compared to women. With respect to ethnicity, the association between these variables was stronger among Black women than Black men.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this large-scale study highlight the need to closely investigate how gender and ethnicity moderate the associations between DG participation and alcohol-related problems. College intervention efforts designed to address high-risk drinking behaviors such as DG participation might consider paying close attention to ethnic minority populations, perhaps particularly Black women.