Predictores del consumo semanal de alcohol y sus consecuencias asociadas en universitarios consumidores intensivos de alcohol

The important implications generated by binge drinking among university students justify the interest to determine which factors predict its occurrence. Specifically, this study aims to assess the role of personality and drinking onset in predicting weekly alcohol consumption, and the impact of the whole set of variables in predicting the number of consequences associated with consumption in undergraduates. Two hundred and thirteen freshmen who were intensive consumers (binge drinkers) from the University Complutense of Madrid were evaluated. All of them filled in a selfregistration of consumption, the BIS-11, the NEO-FFI and the IECI consequences associated with intake. The hierarchical regression analysis shows that the drinking onset appears to be a relevant predictor variable in explaining weekly consumption and the number of consequences. The same can be said of the weekly consumption variable with regard to the number of consequences. In general, the influence of personality is quite limited. It is interesting to point out that responsibility and impulsivity, along with age, explain most of the weekly consumption behavior among males. With respect to the consequences of consumption, only impulsivity and neuroticism contribute to explain them, but with less strength than age and weekly consumption. Our results justify the need to plan tighter interventions and consider new predictors that help to explain further weekly consumption in women.