Previous research suggests that binge drinking among young men serves as a “costly signal” to potential mates, such that the binge drinker is capable of bearing the harmful consequences of alcohol consumption. Here, we propose that binge drinking among young adults is conditionally dependent upon the signaler’s willingness to take risks, which is influenced by the local operational sex ratio (OSR). Using archived binge drinking estimates from 2009 to 2012 and Census Bureau records of OSRs, we tested the relationship between OSR and binge drinking rates at the county level across 3,143 U.S. counties against hypotheses drawn from evolutionary theory. Results from our mixed-effects models revealed that a higher overall OSR (i.e., more eligible men compared to women) was associated with higher male binge drinking rates but lower female binge drinking rates. A higher OSR particularly in the 20–29 and 50+ age groups predicted higher male binge drinking rates but lower female binge drinking rates. Our findings generally support predictions derived from evolutionary theory and suggest that binge drinking may function as a costly sexual signal, conditionally regulated by age and the local sex ratio.

中文翻译：

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运营性别比预示着美国各县的酗酒情况。

先前的研究表明，年轻男性的酗酒对潜在的伴侣来说是一个“代价高昂的信号”，因此酗酒者有能力承受饮酒的有害后果。在这里，我们提出，年轻人的酗酒有条件地取决于信号员承担风险的意愿，而这受到当地操作性别比（OSR）的影响。我们利用 2009 年至 2012 年存档的酗酒估计值和人口普查局的 OSR 记录，根据进化论的假设，测试了美国 3,143 个县县级 OSR 与酗酒率之间的关系。我们的混合效应模型的结果显示，较高的总体 OSR（即，与女性相比，男性更符合资格）与男性酗酒率较高但女性酗酒率较低相关。较高的 OSR（尤其是 20-29 岁和 50 岁以上年龄组）预示着男性酗酒率较高，但女性酗酒率较低。我们的研究结果总体上支持进化论的预测，并表明酗酒可能是一种代价高昂的性信号，受到年龄和当地性别比例的有条件调节。