Drunk people rate themselves depending on peers - study

Sep 14, 2016

Those who drink most alcohol incorrectly ‘imagine’ everyone else also drinks to excess

When in the company of others who are intoxicated, drinkers were found to be more likely to underestimate their own level of drinking, drunkenness and associated risk according to a study published yesterday.

A Cardiff University investigation published in the open access journal BMC Public Health found that while intoxicated and in drinking environments, people's perception of their own drunkenness, the excess of their drinking and the long-term health implications of their drinking behaviour were related to how their own drunkenness ranked in comparison to others around them.

"People were more likely to underestimate their own level of drinking, drunkenness and the associated risks when surrounded by others who were intoxicated, but felt more at risk when surrounded by people who were more sober," reads the study.

According to a press statement released by the journal yesterday, Professor Simon Moore, the corresponding author from Cardiff University credited the research to provide important insights on how to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.

"We could either work to reduce the number of very drunk people in a drinking environment, or we could increase the number of people who are sober. Our theory predicts the latter approach would have greatest impact," Professor Moore said.

Moore further explained that historically researchers worked under the assumption that those who drink most alcohol incorrectly ‘imagine' everyone else also drinks to excess.  But this study reveals that irrespective of how much someone has drunk, if they observe others who are more drunk than they are, they feel less at risk from drinking more.

"On average, people perceived themselves as moderately drunk and moderately at risk, although their breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) exceeded standard US and UK drink driving limits. Men on average had higher BrAC levels than women," reads the report.

Members of Parliament in Uganda, which ranks highest in the region on alcohol consumption, are pushing for a law that will restrict alcohol sale from 5:00pm to 1:00am. Studies such as these could go ahead to inform some of these interventions.

According to the researchers, the knowledge that people's decisions on whether or not to drink more may be influenced by their environment and their observation of others around them should inform future alcohol harm reduction strategies.

The researchers tested the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) of 1,862 individuals, selected from different social groups, who were on average 27 years old. Alcometer tests were conducted between 8:00pm and 3:00am on Friday and Saturday evenings in four locations near large numbers of premises that served and sold alcohol.

Gender and location information were used to divide participants into eight reference groups, one group for each gender in each location, based on the assumption that drinkers would compare themselves to others of the same gender in the same location. Individual BrAC levels were ranked within each reference group.

 

 

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