# Nighttime Drinking Contexts and Risks in Young Adult Drinkers Before and After Legal Drinking Age

> **NIH NIH P60** · PACIFIC INSTITUTE FOR RES AND EVALUATION · 2024 · $288,833

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Opportunities and constraints to drink in different contexts change when young people can access alcohol
legally, but also change momentarily across nighttime hours. We will investigate how contextual risks (e.g.,
drinking locations, number of people, other's drinking) across weekend evening hours change when young
people attain the legal drinking age and how they contribute to heavier drinking and alcohol-related problems.
Young people drink most often during weekend nighttime hours. Prior research has demonstrated that over
those hours drinking and problems may increase, and that drinking is associated with situational (e.g., alcohol
availability) and social (e.g., number of people, age composition) characteristics of drinking locations. The legal
drinking age is a life milestone that affects young people's drinking contexts, behaviors, and problems. Our
goal is to identify the contextual and personal characteristics (e.g., drinking motives) that contribute to drinking
risks over evening hours to inform nighttime preventive interventions for young people moving to the legal
drinking age. The specific aims are to: (1) measure changes in use of contexts and context-specific risks
before and after the legal drinking age, (2) assess differences in personal and contextual covariates related to
the use of nighttime drinking contexts and transitions between contexts among drinkers before and after the
legal drinking age, (3) determine the degree to which personal and contextual covariates differently increase
risks for heavier drinking and problems over evening hours before and after the legal drinking age, and (4)
evaluate the roles of evening plans on actual drinking and problems over evening hours. We propose a two-
wave Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA) study with a sample of 300 young adult current drinkers in
California before they are of legal drinking age (19-20 years old) and two years later, after they attain legal
drinking age (21-22 years). A baseline and three 6-month follow-up surveys between EMA waves will be used
to assess and track changes in personal covariates (e.g., prior drinking, college attendance) and maintain a
high response rate. EMA is well suited to examining changes in contexts, opportunities, constraints, drinking
behaviors, and risks as they unfold in natural settings over evening hours because it minimizes recall bias,
maximizes ecological validity, and allows assessment of micro-ecological processes that influence behaviors
and risks in near real time. Our sample will include college and non-college young adult drinkers in different life
circumstances (e.g., living on their own or with parents) to capture the full range of drinking contexts and
opportunities of young adults as they move to legal drinking age. Results will inform context-based nighttime
preventive interventions by specifying when, where, and to whom prevention options should be provided.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10758228
- **Project number:** 5P60AA006282-42
- **Recipient organization:** PACIFIC INSTITUTE FOR RES AND EVALUATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Sharon Lipperman-Kreda
- **Activity code:** P60 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $288,833
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1983-09-29 → 2027-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10758228

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10758228, Nighttime Drinking Contexts and Risks in Young Adult Drinkers Before and After Legal Drinking Age (5P60AA006282-42). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10758228. Licensed CC0.

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