Harmful alcohol consumption among young adults is a widespread public health concern in the United States. Dangerous drinking presents many risks to partaking individuals, in addition to those around them. Behavioral economics is a school of thought which presents a multifactorial approach to explain human behavior. These include the cultural, social, and psychological factors that influence people’s decisions. The existing literature concerning risky drinking in young adults often targets college students due to the ubiquity of alcohol consumption in university populations, but this paper aims to address the behavior in non-college attending young adults (“community-dwelling”) from a behavioral economics standpoint.
The study’s participants consist of 357 young adults recruited via an online program and an in-person network initiative in the north-central region of Florida (N=357, 64% female, mean age=23.6 yrs.). Eligibility criteria included being 21 to 29 years old, drinking heavily at least once in the past month (4+/5+ drinks for women/men on a single occasion), and experiencing at least one negative consequence of alcohol consumption the preceding three months. Participants completed surveys which assessed the following characteristics: drinking patterns/habits (via Daily Drinking Questionnaire-Revised), experiences of alcohol-related consequences (via the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire), results of an alcohol purchasing simulation (via the Alcohol Purchase Task), results of the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (assessing preferences for immediate-smaller vs. delayed-larger sums of money), alcohol spending (via the Relative Discretionary Expenditures on Alcohol index), and frequency of activities involving substance use (via the Adolescent Reinforcement Survey Schedule Substance Use Version). The data was analyzed using bivariate correlations and regression modelling.
Results of the study found that higher alcohol demand dictated an increase in alcohol-related risk factors. Additionally, when a higher reward value was expressed for alcohol consumption, the total number of past-month drinking days and drinking consequences increased. With regards to the Monetary Choice Questionnaire, participants who elected to receive immediate-small rewards were more likely to drink more per occasion, as well as report more alcohol consequences. The authors also noted that an increase in education history was associated with more alcohol consequences.
Takeaway: behavioral economic principles can potentially be applied to young adult drinking patterns and help identify at-risk individuals. Additional research is needed to compare alcohol consumption between college-attending and community-dwelling young adults.