Repeated use of alcohol as a coping strategy to reduce anxiety or discomfort increases one's risk of developing alcohol dependence. Previous studies have found alcohol outcome expectancies (AOE) strongly predict drinking behavior, in general, and also are related to drinking to cope. The purpose of the current study was to examine AOE that may be related to drinking to cope with discomfort in social situations. It was hypothesized that positive AOE, especially related to assertion and tension reduction, would be most associated with drinking to cope with social situations. Fifty-six community volunteers from a larger study on attentional bias and drinking to cope were divided into high (n=36) and low (n=20) drinking to cope groups following completion of a questionnaire battery. Findings indicated AOE were well able to classify drinking to cope status, with 91% of cases correctly classified. As hypothesized, assertion and tension reduction AOE uniquely contributed to the discriminant function in classifying drinking to cope groups. These findings have implications for the prevention and treatment of alcohol use disorders and suggest that AOE should be further investigated as potential moderators of the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol use disorders.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.04.020 | DOI Listing |
J Am Coll Health
January 2025
Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
Studies have shown that those high in anxiety were at increased risk for alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tension reduction theory points to anxiety sensitivity (AS) as a potential risk factor. Drinking to cope may further increase this risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken)
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego Medical School, San Diego, California, USA.
Background: Preliminary evaluations of 212 drinking offspring from the San Diego Prospective Study (SDPD) indicated that over 50% developed alcohol use disorder (AUD) by their mid-20s. The present analysis evaluated if those findings remained robust when the group increased to 454 individuals, a sample size that facilitated a search for potential contributors to the high AUD prevalence.
Methods: Semistructured interviews were used to evaluate lifetime AUD diagnoses in 224 daughters and 230 sons from the SDPS (N = 454) by mean age 26.
Brain Behav
January 2025
Rehabilitation Psychology, Health Science Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA.
Introduction: This extensive literature review investigates the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD), focusing on the neurobiological changes associated with their co-occurrence. Given that these disorders frequently coexist, we analyze mechanisms through which alcohol serves as a coping strategy for PTSD symptoms, particularly highlighting the drinking-to-cope self-medication model, which suggests that alcohol use exacerbates PTSD symptoms and complicates recovery.
Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar, to identify studies examining the intersection of the biopsychosocial model with PTSD, AUD, and associated neural alterations.
Int J Drug Policy
December 2024
Centre for Addiction Research, Department of Social and Community Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Introduction: Women at midlife have increased rates of harmful drinking in many high-income countries. This cohort grew up within permissive alcohol environments that encouraged women's consumption, linking it to success, femininity, and empowerment. This research drew on notions of 'structures of feeling' and 'affective atmospheres' to explore how women at midlife describe and make sense of alcohol and drinking within their lives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Addict Med
December 2024
From the Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC, Atlanta, GA (ELT, AND, KM, SMG, LG, DMM-D, SYK); Eagle Global Scientific, Atlanta, GA (ELT, AND); G2S Corporation, Shavano Park, Texas (AND); Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA (AND); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore, MD (MT); University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM (PMS, LL); University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (NSS, SC); University of South Florida, Tampa, FL (TW, JML); Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA (EMW, HS); University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (MS, JS); Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (MH, AD); and The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (PDS, KR).
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