By IANS,
Washington : College women may be downing a peg too many in order to hook their male counterparts but without much success, according to a new study.
A survey of 3,616 college students at two universities found that the bulk of women overestimated the amount of alcohol a typical guy would like his female friends, dates or girlfriends to drink.
The results showed 71 percent of women overestimated the men’s actual preference of drinks at any given event. The women overestimated by an average of one-and-a-half drinks.
When the researchers looked at the different subgroups, 26 percent of women said that men would most likely want to be friends with a woman who drinks five or more drinks and 16 percent said that men would be most sexually attracted to a woman who drank that much alcohol.
Both estimates were nearly double of what the men actually preferred.
They also found the women who overestimated the men’s preferences were more likely to engage in excessive drinking.
“There is a great and risky disconnect here between the sexes,” said Joseph LaBrie, study author and associate professor of psychology at the Loyola Marymount University (LMU).
“While not all women may be drinking simply to get a guy’s attention, this may help explain why more women are drinking at dangerous levels. Universities and other public health organisations could use this information to curb binge drinking among young women,” he said.
“Although traditionally men drink more than women, research has shown that women have steadily been drinking more and more over several decades,” said study co-author LaBrie.
“Our research suggests women believe men find excessive drinking sexually attractive and appealing, but it appears this is a giant misperception.”
Researchers invited participants aged between 18 and 25 to complete an online survey during the 2007 autumn semester. They were at LMU in Los Angeles or University of Washington. The results appeared in the March issue of Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, published by the American Psychological Association.