Personality and Binge Drinking: How Personality Risk Factors Affect the Prevalence and Timing of College Binge Drinking

Through the use of daily online surveys, this study investigated the weekly trends associated with college binge drinking. It also investigated the relationship between personality risk factors and binge drinking. Personality risk factors were assessed using the TCI measures of novelty seeking and harm avoidance, and the ATQ measure of sociability. \ud The study found a significant relationship between binge drinking and day of the week, where students binge drank primarily on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Personality was also shown to moderate the prevalence and timing of college binge drinking. Individuals high in personality risk were more likely than their peers to binge drink on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but they did not binge drink more than their peers on the other days of the week. These findings may indicate that individuals high in personality risk are even more affected by the normative weekly binge drinking pattern than their peers