Factors Associated With Owning a Fake ID: Personality Traits and Problematic Alcohol Use

Problematic alcohol consumption, primarily in the form of binge drinking, is a prevalent concern on college campuses (Wechsler & Nelson, 2001). Binge drinking, defined as the consumption of four drinks for women or five drinks for men in a span of two hours, is most common among people ages 18 to 34 years (Kanny et al., 2018). A national survey conducted by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in 2015 found that 58% of full-time college students ages 18–22 reported drinking alcohol in the past month and 37.9% reported binge drinking in the past month; the rate of binge drinking among people of the same age who were not in college was 32.6% (NIAAA, 2015). These findings suggest that there are characteristics of the college environment that may increase risk for developing problematic habits involving alcohol consumption, including binge drinking. The consequences of problematic alcohol use may include serious long-term effects on health such as brain damage, liver disease, heart problems, cancer, and infertility (Spanagel, 2009). In addition, 88,000 people die each year from alcohol-related causes, which makes alcohol abuse the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States (NIAAA, 2015). For example, 45.8% of deaths attributed to liver disease involved alcohol use as a contributing factor (NIAAA, 2015). In 2014, drunk driving was the cause of 9,967 fatalities, accounting for 31% of driving fatalities that year (NIAAA, 2015). Problematic alcohol use among those still under the legal age to purchase and consume alcohol (21 years in the United States) is particularly concerning. Most people who drink prior to turning 21 years old report problematic alcohol use, despite it being illegal to purchase and/or consume alcohol at their age (Kanny et al., 2018). Approximately 5.1 million people between the ages of 12–20 years old ABSTRACT. The purpose of the present study was to examine the correlation between certain personality traits, one’s alcohol use, and owning a fake ID. Many college students use fake IDs to obtain alcohol while underage, which is then related to higher rates of problematic alcohol use. Problematic alcohol use has a number of negative health consequences; as such, efforts to prevent problematic alcohol use among college students need to be identified. The study was conducted with a college student population using an online survey to assess the personality traits of extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience as predictors of fake ID ownership. The relation between fake ID ownership and problematic alcohol use was also assessed. Those who owned a fake ID scored higher in extraversion, t(151) = 2.10, p = . 037, d = 0.34, and problematic alcohol use, t(120) = 2.61, p = . 02, d = 0.42, and lower in neuroticism, t(151) = −1.94, p = . 054. d = −0.36, and openness to experience, t(151) = −2.48, p = . 01, d = −0.40, than those who did not own a fake ID. The results of this study can aid in identifying who among the college student population should be targeted with alternate socializing events to prevent fake ID ownership and problematic alcohol use.