A new paradigm for credibly administering placebo alcohol to underage drinkers

Abstract

Background: The primary goal of this study was to establish a paradigm for credibly administering placebo alcohol to underage drinkers. We also sought to create a new, valid procedure for establishing placebo alcohol believability.

Method: Participants were 138 American college students (66.7% female) predominantly (90.0%) under the legal drinking age. Groups of 2-3 participants and one same-sex confederate consumed mixed drinks, purportedly containing alcohol, ad-lib in a naturalistic bar-laboratory for 20 min. All beverages, however, were non-alcoholic but we used visual, olfactory, and taste cues to maximize placebo credibility. Also, the confederate made two scripted statements designed to increase the perception of drinking real alcohol. After the drinking portion, participants responded to survey items related to alcohol consumption and intoxication. Next, they were individually debriefed, with open-ended responses used to make a determination of whether the participant was deceived with respect to placebo alcohol.

Results: All participants estimated consuming some amount of alcohol. However, using a more conservative criteria for estimating alcohol believability based on the debrief, 89.1% of participants were classified as deceived. Deceived participants were much more likely to estimate having a positive blood alcohol content and to say that their current level of intoxication was typical given the amount of alcohol consumed than non-deceived participants.

Discussion: Credibly administering placebo alcohol to underage drinkers is possible. This approach carries great potential for future laboratory work. In addition, the methodology used here to classify participants as deceived or not deceived appears valid based on self-reported BAC estimation and intoxication levels.

Keywords: Alcohol; Bar-laboratory; College; Confederate; Placebo.