Knowing where they're going: Destination-specific pregaming behaviors in a multiethnic sample of college students

Objectives: To examine how legal age status, gender, and self-reported reasons for pregaming are linked to pregaming for two common drinking contexts: a bar and a Greek party. Method: Participants who reported pregaming at least once a month (n = 2888 students aged 18-25 years) were recruited from 30 colleges/universities across the United States. Results: Many students pregame for social reasons regardless of pregaming destination. Multivariate analyses indicated that legal age students were more likely than underage students to pregame before going to a bar, whereas the opposite was true with respect to pregaming for a Greek party. Women were more likely than men to pregame before going to a bar or a Greek party, whereas men reported higher levels of consumption while pregaming for these destinations compared with women. Conclusions: The present findings suggest areas for targeted intervention efforts and promising avenues for research on context-specific pregaming behaviors among college students.