Alcohol problem recognition as a function of own and others' perceived drinking

A self-regulation model was applied for predicting alcohol problem recognition. With the rate of others' alcohol use serving as a standard, problem recognition was predicted to increase the more one perceived one's drinking rate to be above others' use. Within the context of a classroom-administered survey, 707 nonabstaining undergraduates reported their drinking rates and estimated other students' drinking rates for annual drinking frequency, average weekly drinking quantity, and recent heavy drinking frequency. The independent roles of one's own and others' drinking rates, as well as the discrepancy between these two rates in predicting problem recognition, were examined. Findings were consistent with a self-regulation account. Across measures, only own drinking rate independently predicted problem recognition. Others' drinking rate interacted with own drinking rate in predicting problem recognition on the quantity measure. Specifically, the more heavy drinkers perceived their own quantity to be above others', the higher their problem recognition. Finally, gender effects were observed. Although men reported higher problem recognition than women, women reflected more on their drinking rates for problem recognition.