Personality differences between alcohol and alcohol-energy drink users: an Australian survey

Introduction and Aims: To date, the majority of surveys investigating alcohol and energy drink use have focused on negative drinking outcomes and alcohol consumption. These studies often conclude that use of caffeinated alcohol beverages (CAB) is associated with increased involvement is risk-taking behaviours. However, they fail to examine any group differences and do not explore the reasoning behind the relationship between risk taking and alcohol and energy drink co-consumption. Design and Methods: Participants completed an online survey consisting of two parts. Part 1 determined participants preference of drink type(s) (i.e. alcohol mixed with energy drink or another mixer, or alcohol alone) along with consumption patterns. Part 2 of the survey established scores across a range of personality traits. Results: A total of 1650 people completed the survey, 442 who consumed alcohol mixed with energy drink. Analyses found CAB users to be significantly more likely to use illicit drugs, start drinking at a younger age and to drink greater amounts of alcohol and more often compared to non-users. Furthermore, consumers had significantly higher scores of alexithymia (trouble with identifying and describing emotions with a tendency to focus attention externally) compared to non-consumers. No differences were found on depression, anxiety or stress scores. Discussion and Conclusions: These results indicate the presence of personality differences in CAB users compared to non-users. This finding emphasises the need for within group designs in alcohol and energy drink research and opens the possibility of using alcohol and energy drink use as a screening tool