Research & Resources

Researchers in this study examined whether the behavioral economic principle of alcohol demand was associated with self-reported lifetime consumption of Four Loko—the most popular brand of supersized alcopop among underage drinkers. The 170 participants were undergraduate students at least 18 years of age who had reported at least 1 day of alcohol consumption within the past month. Study participants completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing demographics, Four Loko consumption and associated problems, and alcohol demand. The results showed that students who prefer consuming large quantities of alcohol when it is free are more likely to have consumed Four Loko. Interventions increasing price or reducing the availability of Four Loko may be especially protective for this at-risk population.
This paper, “Alcohol demand and supersized alcopop consumption among undergraduate college students,” was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and published in the journal Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology.