Daily drinking intention-behavior discrepancies are associated with drinking-related consequences

<i>Background:</i> Unplanned drinking episodes are empirically and conceptually linked with adverse outcomes, though recent research suggests planned drinking episodes may be riskier. Mixed findings may be due to unplanned drinking being operationalized as a dichotomous representation of the phenomenon (e.g. was drinking planned or unplanned) rather than continuous (e.g. the number of drinks beyond one's intended limit). Examining a continuous representation of the number of unplanned drinks consumed (i.e. consumed minus intended drinks) would permit a more nuanced evaluation of unplanned drinking and may be more predictive of consequences.<i>Objectives:</i> The present study aimed to describe the occurrence of unplanned drinking and disentangle the role of dichotomous vs. continuous operationalizations in predicting consequences.<i>Methods:</i> Participants were 104 (81.7% female; <i>M_age</i> = 20.75, <i>SD</i> = 1.99) undergraduate drinkers recruited through a psychology subject pool. Participants completed an online baseline survey followed by 14 brief, daily online surveys. Daily reports yielded an analytic sample of 325 drinking episodes.<i>Results:</i> Results indicated that most drinking episodes were planned but underestimated in quantity (i.e. consumption exceeded intentions). Only the continuous estimate of unplanned drinking was associated with negative consequences after controlling for dichotomous unplanned drinking (<i>b</i> = 0.25, IRR = 1.28).<i>Conclusions:</i> Results shed light on the need for a more nuanced operationalization of unplanned drinking behaviors, as current research utilizing a dichotomous lens may not be fully capturing the risky phenomenon. Results suggest that unplanned drinking, particularly related to consuming more drinks than intended, may be a useful indicator of problematic drinking.