Binge drinking is a relatively salient public health issue occurring on college campuses throughout the United States. Within this context of harmful alcohol use, students often report the experience of alcohol-induced amnesia, or blackouts. When large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a relatively short period of time, GABA and NMDA transmission in the brain’s major memory centers (primarily the hippocampus) is severely disrupted, with potential long term psychological effects accumulating after each event. While the general toxicology concerning blackouts is relatively clear, the motives and intentions underlying the behavior are not. This study sought to investigate the motivating factors behind blackout incidences in college students, as well as potential demographic and psychological markers present in those who have reported blackouts.
The study’s sample consisted of 350 college students from universities across the country (N=350, 56% female, 73% white). Primary eligibility criteria included being enrolled in classes and self-reporting at least one instance of alcohol-induced memory impairment in the past year from the time of the study recruitment. Participants completed a survey using the Qualtrics online platform consisting of questions that characterized the following: demographics; alcohol induced blackouts in the past month (via Alcohol-Induced Blackout Measure); intention to blackout/brownout in next 30 days (“brownout” referring to partial or fragmentary bout of alcohol induced memory loss); typical drinking quantity (via Daily Drinking Questionnaire); alcohol related consequences (via Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire); symptoms of depression (via Patient Health Questionnaire); and students’ perceptions and expectancy outcomes of blackouts. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and correlation modeling were the primary tools for data analysis.
Results of the study found that 39% of the sample reported an intentional blackout within the prior 30 days, with 19% of the sample reporting more than one intentional blackout in this timespan. An even higher 61% reported intentions to blackout in the next 30 days. Individuals with a history of blackout-reporting were more likely to have future intentions of blacking-out, greater weekly alcohol consumption, greater symptoms of depression, increased peer approval, and more positive expectancies related to the behavior. The most common specific intentions for blacking out were coping with stress (chronic or situational) and “enhancement motives.”
Takeaway: alcohol-induced memory impairment among college students is often no accident, as large number of students do so intentionally. What is particularly disturbing about this phenomenon is the underlying motives found (stress/depression-related coping), pointing to a large proportion of students throughout the country suffering from psychological duress. Interventions should target the damaging behavior of alcohol-induced blackouts but must also be increasingly thorough in tending to the general mental health of students.
Miller MB, Davis CN, Merrill JE, DiBello AM, Carey KB. Intentions and motives to experience alcohol-induced blackout among young adults in college. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 2020;34(6):690-698. doi:10.1037/adb0000572