Alcohol consumption among college students remains a significant public health concern, with an emerging trend being the consumption of “blackout rage gallons” (BORGs)—gallon jugs containing mixtures of alcohol, caffeinated beverages, and flavor enhancers. This trend has gained popularity through social media platforms where students share recipes and experiences, reflecting a cultural normalization of extreme drinking behaviors, despite the serious health risks. Despite its seriousness, the prevalence of BORG knowledge and consumption among college students has not been documented, creating a critical gap in understanding the demographic and behavioral correlates of this high-risk drinking behavior. Therefore, the present study aims to describe U.S. college students’ experiences with BORG drinking and identify demographic factors that correlate with BORG consumption by examining relationships between drinking status and demographic variables with BORG drinking experiences.
The study recruited 585 participants aged 18-29 who were current or past-year college students who completed a brief 3-minute questionnaire assessing sociodemographic variables and drinking behaviors. Collected data included ethnoracial identification, sex, age, and alcohol use patterns to create a composite drinker status variable (never drinker, lifetime drinker, current drinker), while BORG involvement was assessed through four response options ranging from personal engagement to no knowledge of the behavior. Data analysis involved cross-tabulations stratified by drinker status to estimate BORG involvement and knowledge prevalence, and one-way ANOVA to examine bivariate associations between demographic variables and BORG involvement among current drinkers.
While the majority of never drinkers had not heard of BORG drinking (62.9%), awareness was sharply higher among lifetime and current drinkers, with 20% of current drinkers self-reporting engaging in BORG drinking and another 31.9% knowing someone in their social network who had engaged in this behavior. Overall, 51.9% of current drinkers either engaged in BORG drinking or had personal knowledge of it. Neither sex nor ethnoracial group were significantly associated with BORG involvement. However, age differed significantly across levels of BORG involvement, with post-hoc comparisons revealing that participants who had engaged in BORG drinking were significantly younger than those who had only heard about it and those who had never heard of it, but not significantly different from those who knew someone personally who had engaged in the behavior.
Takeaway: BORG drinking is prevalent among college drinkers, with younger students being most likely to engage in this high-risk behavior, indicating the necessity of inclusive and comprehensive public health strategies