Thanks for the offer: Testing drink offers as predictors of sexual activity

J Am Coll Health. 2022 Jun 21:1-5. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2086435. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Objective: Drink offers are related to increased alcohol consumption, which is linked to sexual activity among college students. However, offers of alcohol may increase the odds of sexual activity that night independent of the amount of alcohol consumed. Participants: 540 undergraduate students were recruited for a longitudinal study of daily experiences. Method: Participants completed up to four annual waves of a measurement burst daily diary study. Using these longitudinal data, we examined whether receiving a drink offer on a given night was related to greater odds of having sex. Results: Receiving a drink offer (but not the number of drinks accepted) is related to greater odds of having sex, controlling for drinking level. Conclusions: Receiving a drink offer is uniquely related to odds of having sex when controlling for the amount of alcohol participants consumed. This may have implications for psychological functioning and relationship development.

Keywords: Drink offers; alcohol; college students; sex.