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Mixing an Energy Drink with an Alcoholic Beverage Increases Motivation for More Alcohol in College Students
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 06/26/2012
Clinical Article
Marczinski CA et al. – An energy drink may elicit increased alcohol priming. This study provides laboratory evidence that alcohol mixed with energy drink beverages may lead to greater motivation to drink versus the same amount of alcohol consumed alone.
Methods- Participants (n = 80) of equal gender attended 1 session where they were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 4 doses (0.91 ml/kg vodka, 1.82 ml/kg energy drink, 0.91 ml/kg vodka mixed with 1.82 ml/kg energy drink [AmED], or a placebo beverage).
- Alcohol–induced priming of the motivation to drink was assessed by self–reported ratings on the Desire for Drug questionnaire.
- The priming dose of alcohol increased the subjective ratings of “desire” for more alcohol, consistent with previous research that small doses of alcohol can increase the motivation to drink.
- Furthermore, higher desire ratings over time were observed with AmEDs compared with alcohol alone.
- Finally, ratings of liking the drink were similar for the alcohol and AmED conditions.