Deakin University
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

Pre-drinking and the temporal gradient of intoxication in a New Zealand nightlife environment

journal contribution
posted on 2018-01-01, 00:00 authored by Michael P Cameron, Matthew J Roskruge, Nicolas Droste, Peter MillerPeter Miller
OBJECTIVE: We measured changes in the average level of intoxication over time in the nighttime economy and identified the factors associated with intoxication, including pre-drinking. METHOD: A random intercept sample of 320 pedestrians (105 women; 215 men) was interviewed and received breath alcohol analysis in the nighttime economy of Hamilton, New Zealand. Data were collected over a five-night period, between 7 P.M. and 2:30 A.M. Data were analyzed by plotting the moving average breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) over time and using linear regression models to identify the factors associated with BrAC. RESULTS: Mean BrAC was 241.5 mcg/L for the full sample; 179.7 for women and 271.7 for men, which is a statistically significant difference. Mean BrAC was also significantly higher among those who engaged in pre-drinking than those who did not. In the regression models, time of night and pre-drinking were significantly associated with higher BrAC. The effect of pre-drinking on BrAC was larger for women than for men. CONCLUSIONS: The average level of intoxication increases throughout the night. However, this masks a potentially important gender difference, in that women's intoxication levels stop increasing after midnight, whereas men's increase continuously through the night. Similarly, intoxication of pre-drinkers stops increasing from 11 P.M., although remaining higher than non-pre-drinkers throughout the night. Analysis of BrAC provides a more nuanced understanding of intoxication levels in the nighttime economy.

History

Journal

Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs

Volume

79

Issue

1

Pagination

119 - 125

Publisher

Alcohol Research Documentation

Location

New Brunswick, N.J.

ISSN

1937-1888

eISSN

1938-4114

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2018, Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.