Perception of Intoxication and Blood Alcohol Concentration of Drinkers in Social Settings

This study examined associations among perception of intoxication, blood alcohol concentration (BAC), discriminability of internal physiological sensations, and awareness of external stimuli related to the number of drinks consumed of subjects in social drinking settings. A total of 156 randomly selected individuals consented to be interviewed as they walked by preselected drinking establishments, and afterward provided a breath sample to determine BAC. This study found that drinkers in social settings can make at least crude estimates of their level of intoxication, and that the accuracy of these estimates decreases as BAC increases.