A new study examined the accuracy of, and correspondence between college students’ definitions of free-pours and their free-poured volumes of beer, wine and liquor. Participants (N = 192) were college students attending a private university in Northern California and were 18 years of age or older. Participants completed a survey before participating in a free-pour task. The survey included questions about demographics as well as participants’ definitions of the number of ounces in a standard serving of beer, wine and liquor. During the free-pour task, the experimenter asked each participant to “pour a standard serving” of beer, wine or liquor. The authors used one-way analyses of variance to examine differences in definitions and free-pours between participants, Pearson product–moment correlation coefficients to evaluate the correlation between participants’ definitions and free-pour volumes and chi-square analyses to examine the likelihood that participants who overestimated or over-poured one type of alcohol also overestimated or over-poured another alcohol type. Results showed that 46% of participants’ definitions of a standard serving of beer were accurate; most participants’ definitions were over (41%) or under (13%) the NIAAA definition. Eleven percent of participants’ definitions of a standard serving of wine were accurate; most participants’ definitions were over (64%) or under (25%) the NIAAA definition. As for participants’ definitions of a standard serving of liquor, 11% of participants’ definitions were accurate; most participants’ definitions were over (61%) or under (28%) the NIAAA criterion. With respect to free-poured drink volumes of beer, 37.5% of participants’ free-pours were accurate; most participants’ free-pours were over (47%) or under (15.5%) the NIAAA definition. Thirty-six percent of participants’ free-poured volumes of wine were accurate; most participants’ free-pours were over (27%) or under (37%) the NIAAA definition. As for participants’ free-poured volumes of liquor, 22% of participants’ free-pours were accurate; most participants’ free-pours were over (24%) or under (54%) the NIAAA definition. Furthermore, participants’ mean definition of a standard serving of beer did not significantly differ from their mean free-pours (p = .748). However, participants’ mean definition of a standard serving of wine and liquor significantly differed from their mean free-poured volumes of wine (p < .0001) and liquor (p < .0001). In addition, Pearson product–moment correlation coefficients (two-tailed) showed a small, but statistically significant, correlation between participants’ beer definitions and free-pours (p = .007). Similarly, participants’ wine definitions and free-pours showed a small, but statistically significant correlation, (p < .0001). On the other hand, participants’ liquor definitions and free-pours were not significantly correlated (p = .133).
Take away: The majority of participants’ definitions and free-pours of beer, wine and liquor were well over or under a standard serving. Participants’ mean free-poured volumes were relatively accurate for both wine and liquor and were slightly low for beer.