Psyschology Study on Drinking
Psyschology Study on DrinkingAbstract
In response to the need for research that incorporates multiple aspects of theory into a testable
framework, this study attempted to replicate and extend the results of Cooper, Russell, Skinner, Frone,
and Mudar (1992). A modified stressor vulnerability model of stress-related drinking was tested in a
homogeneous sample of 65 male and female undergraduate student drinkers. Total weekly consumption of
alcohol was used as the criterion measure, whereas family history of alcoholism (Adapted SMAST: Sher &
Descutner, 1986), alcohol outcome expectancies/valences (CEOA: Fromme, Stroot, & Kaplan, 1993),
perceived stress (PSS: Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), and coping dispositions (COPE: Carver,
Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989) were used as the predictor variables. The proposed modified model postulates
that expectancies play a proximal mediating role in stress-related drinking, whereas gender, family history
of alcoholism, and coping all play a distal moderating role. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures were
then performed to evaluate the model. The results failed to support the hypothesized model. Specifically,
expectancies emerged as a distal rather than proximal predictor of stress-related drinking, and family history
of alcoholism did not moderate stress-related drinking. In contrast, gender and coping styles emerged as the
most powerful predictors in the model. Despite the shortcomings of the proposed model, the present results
offer an alternative interpretation as to what constitutes the stressor vulnerability model of stress-related
drinking.
Introduction
Stress as a Causal Factor in Drinking
One of the common stereotypes about the effects of alcohol involves the drug’s capacity to act as a
stress antagonist. Conger (1956) has proposed a theory, known as the tension reduction hypothesis (TRH)
of drinking, to support this notion. Essentially the theory holds that alcohol’s sedative action on the
central nervous system serves to reduce tension, and because tension reduction is reinforcing, people drink
to escape it (Marlatt & Rohsenow, 1980). Strong evidence to support the validity of the theory comes
from epidemiological findings which indicate that the prevalence of anxiety disorders in alcoholics ranges
from 16 to 37%, compared to a rate of only 4-5% in the general population (Welte, 1985).
Notwithstanding, there seems to be a subset of people for whom the predictions of the TRH do not
hold. For instance, in a study conducted by Conway, Vickers, Ward, and Rahe (1981) it was found that the
consumption of alcohol among Navy officers during periods of high job demands was actually lower than the
consumption during low-demand periods. In addition, other studies (i.e., Mayfield, 1968; Mendlson, Ladou,
& Soloman, 1964) have shown that some drinkers actually consider alcohol as a tension generator rather
than a tension reducer.
Overall, when...
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