Nonalcoholic Beverage Provision May Curb Underage Drinking Among Greek-life College Students

Newswise — Availability of nonalcoholic beverages together with alcohol price increases could reduce alcohol consumption among college students at high risk for drinking-related harm, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Students affiliated with fraternities and sororities, or “Greek” life, are a known risk group for dangerous drinking because of the importance of alcohol in Greek-sponsored social events. Underage Greek-life students may be particularly vulnerable to alcohol misuse. A strong influence on student drinking is alcohol price, with lower prices (for example, in “happy hour” promotions) associated with greater consumption. The Alcohol Purchase Task (APT) is widely used to study the relationship between alcohol price and motivation to drink (“alcohol demand”), by presenting students with a hypothetical scenario and asking how many drinks they would purchase and consume at different prices. A novel variant of the APT, called the “APT Choice,” can be used to assess alcohol demand when an nonalcoholic alternative is available at a fixed price, and thereby inform potential strategies for reducing alcohol-related harm. The new study, at The College of New Jersey, is the first to examine alcohol demand exclusively among students affiliated with Greek life, and to test whether offering a nonalcoholic beverage changes demand for alcohol among this high-risk group.

The data were from 229 undergraduates (of whom half were under the legal drinking age) recruited from fraternities and sororities at a liberal arts college. Participants completed both hypothetical purchase tasks: the standard APT, and the APT Choice, for which they were told they could purchase alcohol at varying prices or a nonalcoholic beverage for $2.50. As anticipated, demand for alcohol was very high among these Greek-life students, with an average hypothetical consumption when drinks were free of 7.3 drinks (at least 1.5 times the threshold for binge drinking). However, price increases led to decreased alcohol use, with a drink price of $4.00 and higher suppressing consumption below the binge threshold. Demand for alcohol also decreased when a nonalcoholic alternative was available, and this was particularly the case among underage students. The data indicated that, when a nonalcoholic alternative is available, alcohol use can be suppressed at much lower prices per standard drink for underage students than for those aged 21+.

Therefore, although Greek-affiliated students demonstrate high demand for alcohol, demand may be reduced when a nonalcoholic beverage is available at a low, fixed price. Nonalcoholic options may enhance the effectiveness of increasing alcohol prices to reduce alcohol consumption, particularly among underage students. The findings therefore substantiate U.S. Department of Education recommendations to provide low-cost nonalcoholic beverages (priced below the lowest-cost alcoholic drink) in contexts where college students consume alcohol, and to impose small surcharges on alcohol (the funds from which could underwrite prevention efforts on college campuses). In the future, the APT Choice could also be used to study demand for alcohol in other at-risk student groups, such as those with family history of alcohol misuse, to inform evidence-based efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm.

The behavioral economics of alcohol demand in Greek-affiliated college students. O.A. Ortelli, M.P. Martinetti (pages xxx).

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