Bad luck or bad decisions: college students' perceptions of the reasons for and consequences of their alcohol overdose

Reasons for and immediate consequences of an alcohol overdose were explored for 217 undergraduate students requiring a medical emergency transport because of excessive alcohol consumption. The sample was categorized into 26 students attributing their overdose solely to bad luck and 191 students citing bad decision making as an explanation. A discriminant analysis portrayed the bad luck students as more likely to change the type of alcohol consumed, worrying more about problems with friends, less likely to change how much they drink and less likely to feel that they learned something about themselves. Friends were not named as being involved, but lapses in knowing how to pace consumption were frequently cited. Design of preventive educational programs for underage drinkers with the aim of avoiding an overdose is discussed.