HealthDay News reported Sept. 14 that researchers compared self-reported survey responses to breathalyzer readings taken from students late in the evening on the Duke campus. They found that student blood-alcohol content readings corresponded fairly well to students' estimations of their alcohol consumption.

Previous laboratory studies had concluded that college students underestimated their drinking because they tended to pour oversized drinks for themselves, thinking they were standard-sized.

"This data suggests that surveys [of students' self-reported drinking habits] are useful in collecting data about drinking habits," said study author Aaron White.

However, researcher Henry Wechsler, director of the Harvard School of Public Health's College Alcohol Studies Program, said more study is needed. "While this is a provocative study, I can't fairly accept it as definitive proof of [the accuracy of self-reporting] because it is based on a small sample at one school," he said.

Beer drinkers were more accurate in their estimations than those who drank wine or spirits, the Duke researchers found. Accuracy decreased as the number of drinks and duration of drinking increased, they noted.

The research appears in the September 2005 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

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