College student drinking in the United States is a widespread behavior which elicits deleterious effects in the lives of many students. The behavior itself is influenced by a variety of different factors, confounding efforts to concisely characterize the phenomenon. Co-behaviors occurring with harmful alcohol consumption may often include changes in regular eating patterns. Among these is food-restricted alcohol consumption, which involves eating little, if any food, before drinking often in order to enhance the speed or degree of intoxication. This study investigates relationships between psychiatric symptoms and food-restricted alcohol consumption in college students.
The study’s sample consists of 561 undergraduate students from a large university in the southeastern United States with eligibility criteria including having consumed alcohol at least once in the prior year (N=561, 59.71% female, 70.77% Caucasian). The participants completed online questionnaires which assessed the following variables: demographics; history/frequency of food-restricted alcohol consumption; alcohol use via the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; disordered eating via the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory; depression, anxiety and stress via the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales; childhood trauma via the Childhood Traumatic Events Scale; negative urgency via the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale; and a self-reported checklist of past psychiatric symptoms and/or diagnoses. Data analysis was performed using hierarchical multiple regression modelling.
Results of the study indicated the overall prevalence of food-restricted alcohol consumption was 23.89%, with nearly all students in this designation doing so in order to induce intoxication more rapidly, prevent weight gain, or both. Students who reported food-restricted alcohol consumption scored significantly higher on assessment scores for disordered eating; depression, anxiety and stress; negative urgency; harmful drinking; and suicidality (p<0.01 for all mentioned variables).
Takeaway: food-restricted alcohol consumption is suggested to be associated with a number of different psychiatric symptoms in college students, reaffirming the notion that proper mental healthcare is often needed when addressing harmful drinking in college students. Screening for disordered eating patterns may be helpful in identifying at-risk individuals for alcohol-related problems.