Energy drinks mixed with alcohol: are there any risks?

There have now been a number of publications, including laboratory studies and surveys, on alcohol mixed with energy drinks. Some authors have highlighted problems associated with consumption of this beverage combination, including reduced perception of alcohol intoxication and greater alcohol consumption with more negative consequences as a result. The key point to emphasize here is that the cited surveys use between groups designs, i.e., an alcohol mixed with energy drink group compared to an alcohol-only group. Using a more appropriate within-subjects designs, i.e., comparing consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks and alcohol-only consumption in the same subjects reveals that users of the combined beverages may drink less and do not experience more negative consequences. This, again, supports the existence of a third causal "trait" variable. Indeed, users of alcohol mixed with energy drinks differ in aspects of personality including masculine identity, level of risk-taking behavior and alcohol consumption, per se.