Food and alcohol disturbance, alcohol use, and negative consequences among college students engaging in binge drinking: A longitudinal examination of between- and within-person effects.

Objective: Researchers have documented robust associations between food and alcohol disturbance (FAD-intoxication; restricting caloric intake before or during alcohol consumption to experience a quicker and/or more intense alcohol intoxication) and alcohol use and related negative consequences. However, most of this research has utilized cross-sectional designs. Consequently, two crucial gaps have not yet been filled: (a) the separation of the relatively stable, between-person and the fluctuating, within-person components in the relations between FAD-intoxication and alcohol-related constructs; and (b) the examination of the directionality of these within-person relations.

Method: Participants were college students (n = 686) who reported past-month binge drinking. Most participants identified as White (71.3%), female (78.4%), non-Hispanic (87.8%), with a mean age of 20.64 (SD = 3.25). Participants completed three online surveys assessing FAD-intoxication (College Eating and Drinking Behaviors Scale), alcohol use (Daily Drinking Questionnaire), and related negative consequences (Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire).

Results: Analyses revealed that FAD-intoxication was positively associated with alcohol use and related negative consequences at the between-person level. Additionally, at the within-person level, FAD-intoxication at Time 2 significantly predicted alcohol use at Time 3. Notably, the cross-lagged effect from FAD-intoxication at Time 1 to alcohol use at Time 2 was not significant. FAD-intoxication did not significantly predict negative consequences. Neither use nor consequences significantly predicted FAD-intoxication.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that FAD-intoxication is relevant to the study of alcohol use and related negative consequences and should be considered in interventions targeting alcohol use and related negative consequences among students who endorse binge drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).