Disinhibited characteristics and binge drinking among university student drinkers Scott R. Carlson ⁎, Season C. Johnson, Pauline C. Jacobs Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4 abstract article info Keywords: Binge drinking Disinhibited personality Impulsivity Sensation seeking Aggression Student drinking Binge drinking is a major problem at North American universities. Disinhibited traits have provided insight on other patterns of alcohol involvement, but less is known about how they relate to bingeing. Drinkers at a large urban university (n = 293) completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 (BIS-11), the Aggression Questionnaire, and the Thrill and Adventure Seeking and Boredom Susceptibility scales. Binge drinking was assessed using the NIAAA recommendation for standardizing binge frequency. Hierarchical regression was used to evaluate relationships between disinhibited traits and bingeing. BIS-11 Motor Impulsiveness, Thrill and Adventure Seeking and Boredom Susceptibility predicted bingeing. As about 15% of the variability in bingeing was due to disinhibition facets, they should be considered in future models of student vulnerability to bingeing. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Approximately two in five college students report binge drinking, commonly defined as 5 or more drinks in one setting for males (4+ drinks/setting for females), at least once a year (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 1998; Wechsler et al., 2002). Binge drinking students are more likely than non-bingers to have academic problems, engage in high risk sex, sustain an injury, overdose on alcohol and drive while intoxicated (Jennison, 2004; Vik, Carrello, Tate, & Field, 2000; Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Rimm, 1995; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee, 2000; Wechsler et al., 2002). After college, binge drinkers are more likely to occupy less prestigious occupations, earn lower incomes (Jennison), and have more psychiatric disorders (Robin, Long, Rasmussen, Albaugh, & Goldman, 1998). Clearly, bingeing is a significant problem on North American campuses, and has been receiving increasing interest in recent years as a specific pattern of problematic drinking (e.g., Courtney & Polich, 2009; Sher, Grekin, & Williams, 2005). A major domain of individual differences that aids our understanding of vulnerability for drinking heavily is disinhibited personality traits (e.g., Dawe, Gullo, & Loxton, 2004; Moeller & Dougherty, 2002; Sher et al. 2005). Surprisingly, little research has been done examining the associations between disin- hibited traits and college binge drinking. The present study replicates and extends past work by examining specific relationships between binge drinking and various disinhibited traits. The frequency of binge drinking is an important factor influencing the negative repercussions of bingeing as those who binge frequently account for the majority of students who experience alcohol related problems (Jennison, 2004; Wechsler et al., 2000). 1.1. Disinhibited characteristics, alcohol use, and problematic drinking Alcohol use disorders have repeatedly been linked to disinhibited personality and psychopathology (e.g., Chermack & Giancola, 1997; Iacono, Carlson, Taylor, Elkins, & McGue, 1999; Sher et al., 2005; Tarter et al., 1999). Although disinhibition has been defined in numerous ways, the traits of impulsivity, sensation seeking, and aggression are disinhibited characteristics related to alcohol abuse and dependence (Chermack & Giancola, 1997; Sher et al., 2005; Zuckerman, 2006). A sophisticated quantitative model by Krueger and colleagues (Krueger, Markon, Patrick, Benning, & Krammer, 2007) suggested that individ- ual differences in alcohol use, drug use, antisocial behavior, various forms of aggression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking (particularly aspects related to thrill/excitement seeking and boredom proneness) are facets of an externalizing dimension in the general population. Externalizing reflects a strong genetic influence on the covariance of these phenomena (Krueger et al., 2002), and in its extreme form manifests as clinical disorders (Krueger, Markon, Patrick, & Iacono, 2005). A hierarchical model supported a general externalizing factor as a contributor to variance in all of these phenomena (Krueger et al., 2007). Problematic Impulsivity was a relatively pure measure of this superordinate externalizing factor. Two subordinate traits, unrelated to either the general externalizing dimension or Problematic Impulsivity, contributed independently to variance in the other facets. Sensation seeking traits and aggression loaded on one of the two subfactors. Alcohol use and problems, along with other substance involvement and many aspects of non-aggressive antisocial behavior, Addictive Behaviors 35 (2010) 242–251 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 604 822 5412; fax: +1 604 822 6923. E-mail address: scarlson@psych.ubc.ca (S.R. Carlson). 0306-4603/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.10.020 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Addictive Behaviors