Motives and Reasons to Pre-Load Among University Students in New Zealand: A Mixed-Method Study

Alcohol pre-loading (predrinking/pregaming/prepartying) has been linked to alcohol-related harms. Although researchers have developed measures of pre-loading motives, less research has investigated how responses on such ‘forced choice’ measures map onto open-ended responses that gauge emerging adults’ pre-loading motivations. Further, research on the validity of these measures, including possible variations in pre-loading motives across different cultural contexts, is needed. We conducted a mixed methods study with university students in New Zealand ( N = 224, female = 64.7%, M age = 19.79) and found support for the 4-factor model of the Prepartying Motivations Inventory (PMI). Students’ top reasons for pre-loading supported all but one PMI subscale (intimate pursuit), and some open-ended responses did not align with PMI subscales (e.g., cost/money savings). Intimate pursuit and interpersonal enhancement motives were positively associated with pre-loading frequency and negative alcohol consequences, respectively. Findings suggest that there are important pre-loading motives/reasons that are not captured by the PMI, which could inform refinement of pre-loading motives measures.