Participation in drinking games and predrinking among university students in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand

Abstract

The limited existing research on drinking games and predrinking among university students in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand suggests that participation in these risky drinking practices is relatively widespread among this population. Drinking norms and alcohol use can vary across countries and in different regions of the globe. The measurement of drinking games and predrinking participation between studies also differs, making cross-country comparisons difficult. The present study explored differences in past month participation in drinking games and predrinking among university students from a large public university in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Methods: The data analytic sample consisted of 1,134 university students (ages 18-25, Mage=20.2 years; 72.6% women) from Argentina (n=349), Australia (n=280), Canada (n=262), and New Zealand (n=243) who reported weekly alcohol consumption. Students completed a confidential survey on drinking attitudes and behaviors. Results: Controlling for age, gender, and weekly drink consumption, there were no cross-country differences in past month participation in predrinking. In contrast, university students from Canada and New Zealand were more likely to have played a drinking game in the past month than students from Australia and Argentina. Conclusions: The present finding suggest that university students from Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are equally likely to participate in predrinking regardless of country; however, the likelihood of playing drinking games differs as a function of country site.