"We're Not Getting Wasted Beforehand, We're Just Drinking a Few Beers." "Pregaming": A Current Practice in Adolescent Alcohol Consumption

Abstract

In the present study we investigated pregaming as a specific and thus far scarcely researched drinking practice. Previous research on pregaming showed that it is associated with several risks. In the context of our study we conducted eight group discussions with adolescents and young adults in public areas of four districts of the city of Freiburg, Germany. These group discussions were audiotaped, subsequently transcribed, openly coded, and then categorized and contrasted for analyses. Thus, for the first time, we generated a detailed description of the drinking practice pregaming. We identified how the participants of this study organize a typical pregaming evening and how such an evening proceeds. The steps specific to the course of action and organization of pregaming include: Seeking out a convenient place for drinking, procuration of alcoholic beverages, type of consumed alcoholic beverages, and the chronological structure which pregaming is based on with respect to the overall course of the night. Moreover, we shed light on our participants' reported motives that make pregaming attractive. In addition to previously known reasons for pregaming, we were able to identify the following motives: consumption stories, celebration of group cohesion, and reducing or eliminating negative emotions. The present findings may substantially contribute to the development and/or modification of prevention and intervention measures.

URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1301232