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Alcohol Expectancies (alcohol + expectancy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	91%
Psychology	8%

Selected Abstracts

Alcohol Expectancies and Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Mediate the Association of Impulsivity With Alcohol Misuse

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2010
Matthew J. Gullo
Background:, Recent work suggests that 2 biologically based traits convey risk for alcohol misuse: reward sensitivity/drive and (rash) impulsiveness. However, the cognitive mechanisms through which these traits convey risk are unclear. This study tested a model predicting that the risk conveyed by reward sensitivity is mediated by a learning bias for the reinforcing outcomes of alcohol consumption (i.e., positive alcohol expectancy). The model also proposed that the risk conveyed by rash impulsiveness (RI) is mediated by drinkers' perceived ability to resist alcohol (i.e., drinking refusal self-efficacy). Methods:, Study 1 tested the model in a sample of young adults (n = 342). Study 2 tested the model in a sample of treatment-seeking substance abusers (n = 121). All participants completed a battery of personality, cognitive, and alcohol use questionnaires and models were tested using structural equation modeling. Results:, In both studies, the hypothesized model was found to provide a good fit to the data, and a better fit than alternative models. In both young adults and treatment-seeking individuals, positive alcohol expectancy fully mediated the association between reward sensitivity and hazardous alcohol use. For treatment seekers, drinking refusal self-efficacy fully mediated the association between RI and hazardous drinking. However, there was partial mediation in the young adult sample. Furthermore, neither trait was directly associated with the other cognitive mediator. Conclusions:, The hypothesized model was confirmed on a large sample of young adults and replicated on a sample of treatment-seeking substance abusers. Taken together, these findings shed further light on the mechanisms through which an impulsive temperament may convey risk for alcohol misuse. [source]

Projected Alcohol Dose Influences on the Activation of Alcohol Expectancies in College Drinkers

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 7 2009
Jennifer P. Read
Background:, Alcohol expectancies have been linked to drinking behavior in college students, and vary according to a number of factors, including projected dose of alcohol. Research using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) suggests that drinking may be influenced by activation of differing expectancy dimensions in memory, yet studies have not examined expectancy activation according to projected alcohol doses. Methods:, The present study used Individual Differences Scaling (INDSCAL) to map expectancy networks of college students (n = 334) who imagined varied drinking at high and low alcohol doses. Expectancy activation was modeled by dose, as well as by gender and by drinking patterns (typical quantity, blood alcohol content, heavy episodic drinking, and alcohol consequences). Expectancies were organized along positive,negative and arousal,sedation dimensions. Anticipation of a high dose of alcohol was associated with greater emphasis on the arousal,sedation dimension, whereas anticipation of a lower dose was associated with greater emphasis on the positive,negative dimension. Results:, Across heavy, medium, and light drinkers, expectancy dimensions were most distinguishable at higher doses; activation patterns were more similar across drinking groups at lighter doses. Modest evidence for the influence of gender on activation patterns was observed. Findings were consistent across alcohol involvement indices. Conclusions:, These data suggest that both dimensionality and context should be considered in the refinement of interventions designed to alter expectancies in order to decrease hazardous drinking. [source]

ALDH2 Status, Alcohol Expectancies, and Alcohol Response: Preliminary Evidence for a Mediation Model

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2001
Denis M. McCarthy
Background: A genetic variant in the alcohol-metabolizing enzyme (aldehyde dehydrogenase;ALDH2*2 allele), common in individuals of Asian heritage, has been associated with both physiologic response to alcohol and alcohol consumption. Prior research has also demonstrated that those with ALDH2*2 alleles have lower positive alcohol expectancies than those without these alleles. This preliminary study was designed to test whether the level of response to alcohol is the mechanism by which ALDH2 status may affect alcohol expectancies. Methods: Data were collected from 32 Asian American college students (14 women and 18 men). By use of a randomized, double-blind design, participants were administered oral placebo and alcohol at separate laboratory sessions. Data included blood tests to establish ALDH2 status, questionnaire measures of demographic information and alcohol expectancy, and several physiologic measures collected after placebo and alcohol administration. Results: ALDH2 status was related to alcohol response measures for both men and women. ALDH2 status was also related to tension reduction expectancies for women and to expectancies for cognitive behavioral impairment for men. In the male sample, the ALDH2/expectancy relationship was fully explained by the level of response to alcohol. Conclusions: These results represent a first step in understanding the mechanisms by which genetic factors, such as ALDH2 status, can affect alcohol-related learning. [source]

The influence of cultural orientation, alcohol expectancies and self-efficacy on adolescent drinking behavior in Beijing

ADDICTION, Issue 9 2010
Duane F. Shell
ABSTRACT Objective We hypothesized that the drinking behavior of adolescents in China is influenced by expectancies and self-efficacy and that adolescents' cultural orientation towards western versus traditional Chinese values influences expectancies, self-efficacy and drinking behavior, with western values leading to more dysfunctional patterns of beliefs and drinking, and that these beliefs are influenced by students' gender and school environment. Methods A total of 1020 high school students from Beijing completed the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy, the Chinese Cultural Orientation and the Chinese Self-regulation Self-efficacy questionnaires. Results Results generally confirmed our hypotheses. Higher negative expectancies and higher self-efficacy reduced the likelihood of drinking significantly. Higher positive expectancies increased the likelihood of regular drinking but not occasional drinking. Having western cultural orientation increased the likelihood of drinking. Higher levels of western cultural orientation also increased positive expectancies, lowered negative expectancies and lowered self-efficacy. Having more western (less traditional) views towards traditional Chinese values decreased positive and negative expectancies. Gender influenced beliefs, with males having higher positive and lower negative expectancies, lower self-efficacy and more traditional cultural orientation. Students in key and general schools had less traditional cultural orientation and key school students had higher self-efficacy. Conclusions Results indicate that cultural orientation influences adolescent drinking and this influence is mediated partially through cultural orientation influences on adolescent drinking expectancies and self-efficacy. Having more western and less traditional Chinese cultural orientation leads to more drinking, lower self-efficacy for regulating drinking and more risk-promoting alcohol expectancies. [source]

Alcohol expectancies in convicted rapists and child molesters

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2001
Anu S. Aromäki PhD
Background Previous findings suggest that cognitive factors and expectancies related to drinking can mediate subjective sexual arousal as well as aggression in men. Our aim was to investigate the drinking habits and alcohol-related expectancies that might predispose men to sexually aggress in two groups of sexual offenders. Method Men convicted of rape (n = 10) were compared with men convicted of child molesting (n = 10) and with control subjects (n = 31). Current drinking habits (while not in prison) were assessed by self-report, and the extent of alcohol abuse was mapped by the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST; Selzer, 1971). Cognitive expectancies related to alcohol use were explored by the standard Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ; Brown et al., 1980). Results The majority of the men who committed rape (70%) but only a third of the men convicted of child molesting were diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Alcohol abuse was common in men convicted of both rape and child molesting and the men convicted of rape expected significantly more positive effects from drinking than the control group. Both sex offender groups were the only groups to express significant alcohol-related cognitive expectancies linked to arousal and aggression. Expectancy patterns were directly linked to the antisocial personality characteristics. Conclusion Alcohol abuse is common in men who commit both rape and child molesting. Heavy drinking and the anticipation of alcohol effects such as sexual enhancement, arousal and aggression may facilitate sexual aggression in offenders with antisocial personality disorder. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

Projected Alcohol Dose Influences on the Activation of Alcohol Expectancies in College Drinkers

The relationship of behavioural undercontrol to alcoholism in higher-functioning adults

DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 5 2006
MARC A. SCHUCKIT
Abstract Externalising behaviours, including the personality characteristics of behavioural undercontrol (BU), represent one of several genetically influenced domains that impact on the alcoholism risk. Because genes explain only about 60% of the vulnerability toward alcohol use disorders (AUDs), an optimal understanding of how such behaviours affect the risk requires evaluation of their impact in the context of additional influences. Few studies have addressed this question regarding BU among relatively well-functioning adults. This paper presents results from testing a BU-based mediational model of risk in men from the San Diego Prospective Study. Structured research instruments were used with 430 adult Caucasian males to evaluate the performance of BU in predicting AUDs at the 15-year follow-up using Pearson product-moment correlations among domains and an AMOS-based structural equation model (SEM). While both the family history of AUDs (FHalc) and BU predicted alcohol-related outcome, BU by itself did not mediate the relationship of the FH to alcohol disorders. The impact of BU on alcohol problems was mediated by alcohol expectancies, peer drinking and by coping. The SEM explained 42% of the variance for AUDs. The current results indicate that BU contributed to the risk for alcohol-related problems, even among more highly functional subjects and after excluding the impact of the antisocial personality disorder, but by itself did not mediate the relationship of FH to outcome in these subjects. [source]

The influence of cultural orientation, alcohol expectancies and self-efficacy on adolescent drinking behavior in Beijing

Internet-based prevention for alcohol and cannabis use: final results of the Climate Schools course

ADDICTION, Issue 4 2010
Nicola C. Newton
ABSTRACT Aims To establish the long-term efficacy of a universal internet-based alcohol and cannabis prevention programme in schools. Methods A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course. The evidence-based course, aimed at reducing alcohol and cannabis use, is facilitated by the internet and consists of 12 novel and curriculum consistent lessons delivered over 6 months. Participants A total of 764 year 8 students (13 years) from 10 Australian secondary schools were allocated randomly to the internet-based prevention programme (n = 397, five schools), or to their usual health classes (n = 367, five schools). Measures Participants were assessed at baseline, immediately post, and 6 and 12 months following completion of the intervention, on measures of alcohol and cannabis knowledge, attitudes, use and related harms. Results This paper reports the final results of the intervention trial, 12 months following the completion of the Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course. The effectiveness of the course 6 months following the intervention has been reported previously. At the 12-month follow-up, compared to the control group, students in the intervention group showed significant improvements in alcohol and cannabis knowledge, a reduction in average weekly alcohol consumption and a reduction in frequency of drinking to excess. No differences between groups were found on alcohol expectancies, cannabis attitudes or alcohol- and cannabis-related harms. The course was found to be acceptable by teachers and students as a means of delivering drug education in schools. Conclusions Internet-based prevention programs for school-age children can improve student's knowledge about alcohol and cannabis, and may also reduce alcohol use twelve months after completion. [source]

A computerized harm minimization prevention program for alcohol misuse and related harms: randomized controlled trial

ADDICTION, Issue 4 2009
Laura Vogl
ABSTRACT Aims Hazardous alcohol use is a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults world-wide, yet few effective prevention interventions exist. This study was the first to examine a computerized harm minimization intervention to reduce alcohol misuse and related harms in adolescents. Design Cluster randomized controlled trial of a six-session curriculum-integrated harm minimization prevention program. The intervention was delivered by computer in the form of a teenage drama, which provided education through alcohol-related scenarios to which young people could relate. Setting Schools in Australia. Participants A total of 1466 year 8 students (13 years) from 16 high schools in Australia were allocated randomly to a computerized prevention program (n = 611, eight schools) or usual classes (n = 855, eight schools). Measurements Change in knowledge, alcohol use, alcohol-related harms and alcohol expectancies. Findings A computerized prevention program was more effective than usual classes in increasing alcohol-related knowledge of facts that would inform safer drinking choices and decreasing the positive social expectations which students believed alcohol may afford. For females it was effective in decreasing average alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harms and the frequency of drinking to excess (more than four standard drinks; 10 g ethanol). For males the behavioural effects were not significant. Conclusions A harm minimization approach is effective in educating young people about alcohol-related risks and is effective in reducing risky drinking and harms among girls. Reduction of problems among boys remains a challenge. [source]

The effects of alcohol expectancies on drinking behaviour in peer groups: observations in a naturalistic setting

ADDICTION, Issue 9 2005
Sander M. Bot
ABSTRACT Aims To study the functionality of alcohol expectancies in predicting drinking behaviour in existing peer groups of young adults in a ,naturalistic' setting. Design and setting Young adults were invited to join an experiment with their peer group in a bar annex laboratory. During a ,break' of 50 minutes in this experiment, their activities, social behaviour and drinking behaviour were observed with digital video and audio equipment. Participants Twenty-eight peer groups were involved in this study. A peer group consisted of seven to nine people, with relationships ranging from intimate relations and close friendships to being acquaintances. A total of 238 participants were involved. Measurements Information of the drinking behaviour from observations and questionnaire data on alcohol expectancies provide the opportunity to look at how and which expectancies are related to actual drinking patterns. Multiple regression and multi-level analyses were applied. Findings Expectancies on the positive and arousing effects of alcohol consumption were related to alcohol consumption in a naturalistic, social drinking situation, in addition to group effects of drinking. Expectancies on the negative and sedative effects of drinking, however, were not related to drinking. Conclusions The findings indicate that among young adults observed in a peer group and naturalistic drinking setting, positive expectancies about the effects of alcohol and expectancies about the effects of alcohol on arousal are related positively to drinking level. [source]

Differential effects of alcohol and alcohol expectancy on risk-taking during simulated driving

HUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue 3 2003
Scott E. Burian
Abstract This study examined the separate and combined effects of alcohol (0.0 or 0.5,g/kg) and alcohol expectancies (none or 2,3 standard drinks) on risk-taking using a simulated-driving lane choice task. In this task, risk-taking was operationalized as choosing a cone-defined lane with a higher relative probability of hitting a cone. When alcohol was received but not expected, the probability of a risky lane choice increased compared with when alcohol was neither expected nor received. However, when subjects both expected and received alcohol, the probability of a risky lane choice was significantly decreased compared with when alcohol was neither expected nor received. These findings suggest that the knowledge of dose received can differentially influence the pharmacological effect of alcohol on decision-making. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Predictors of Alcohol Attitudes and Expectancies in Hispanic National Groups

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2010
Britain A. Mills
Background:, Multiple theoretical frameworks identify attitudes and expectancies as important predictors of alcohol behavior. Few studies have examined demographic predictors of these evaluative and belief-based cognitive mediators in the general population, and none have examined them in large-scale studies of Hispanics, a group at higher risk for drinking behavior and problems. This study probes the extent to which dimensions of attitudes and expectancies share common demographic predictors in a large sample of Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and South/Central Americans. Methods:, The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS) used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5,224 individuals randomly selected from households in Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. This study focused on 2,773 respondents self-identified as current drinkers. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of positive and negative dimensions of attitudes and expectancies, controlling for various background variables. Results:, Religious affiliation selectively predicted alcohol attitudes, with Catholics having more positive and fewer negative attitudes than other religious groups. Hispanic group selectively predicted alcohol expectancies, with Cuban-Americans having less positive and less negative expectancies than other groups. Being U.S.-born or male predicted more positive attitudes and expectancies, but birthplace and gender did not predict negative dimensions of attitudes or expectancies. Higher acculturation and more education were linked to a decreased tendency to agree with any item. Age was positively and negatively associated with negative expectancies and positive attitudes, respectively, and having never been married, higher income, and unemployment were each linked to fewer negative attitudes. Conclusions:, Although there is some overlap, attitudes and expectancies are influenced by different sociodemographic variables. Positive and negative dimensions of those constructs also show distinct patterns of relations. Prevention and treatment programs targeting cognitive mediators of behavior should be mindful of these differential determinants and future modeling endeavors should incorporate them. [source]

Comparing Structural Equation Models That Use Different Measures of the Level of Response to Alcohol

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2010
Marc A. Schuckit
Background:, The two measures of a low level of response (LR) to alcohol, an alcohol challenge and the retrospective Self-Report of the Effects of Alcohol questionnaire (SRE), each identify individuals at high risk for heavy drinking and alcohol problems. These measures also perform similarly in identifying subjects with unique functional brain imaging characteristics. However, few data are available regarding whether alcohol challenge-based and SRE-based LRs operate similarly in structural equation models (SEMs) that search for characteristics, which help to mediate how LR impacts alcohol outcomes. Methods:, Two hundred and ninety-four men from the San Diego Prospective Study were evaluated for their LR to alcohol using alcohol challenges at ,age 20. At ,age 35, the same subjects filled out the SRE regarding the number of drinks needed for effects 15 to 20 years earlier. The two different LR scores for these men were used in SEM analyses evaluating how LR relates to future heavy drinking and to drinking in peers (PEER), alcohol expectancies (EXPECT), and drinking to cope (COPE) as potential mediators of the LR to drinking pattern (ALCOUT) relationships. Results:, While the 2 LR measures that were determined 15 years apart related to each other at a modest level (r = 0.17, p < 0.01), the SEM results were similar regardless of the LR source. In both alcohol challenge-based and SRE-based LR models, LR related directly to ALCOUT, with partial mediation from PEER and COPE, but not through EXPECT in these 35-year-old men. Conclusions:, Consistent with the >60% overlap in prediction of outcomes for the 2 LR measures, and with results from functional brain imaging, alcohol challenge- and SRE-based LR values operated similarly in SEM models in these men. [source]

Expectancy and Risk for Alcoholism: The Unfortunate Exploitation of a Fundamental Characteristic of Neurobehavioral Adaptation

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2002
Mark S. Goldman
Psychological investigations of alcohol expectancies over the last 20 years, using primarily verbal techniques, have strongly supported expectancies as an important mediator of biological and environmental antecedent variables that influence risk for alcohol use and abuse. At the same time, rapid developments in neuroscience, cognitive science, affective science, computer science, and genetics proved to be compatible with the concept of expectancy and, in some cases, used this concept directly. By using four principles that bear on the integration of knowledge in the biological and behavioral sciences,consilience, conservation, contingency, and emergence,these developments are merged into an integrated explanation of alcoholism and other addictions. In this framework, expectancy is seen as a functional approach to adaptation and survival that has been manifested in multiple biological systems with different structures and processes. Understood in this context, addiction is not a unique behavioral problem or special pathology distinct from the neurobehavioral substrate that governs all behavior, but is rather a natural (albeit unfortunate) consequence of these same processes. The ultimate intent is to weave a working heuristic that ties together findings from molecular and molar levels of inquiry and thereby might help direct future research. Such integration is critical in the multifaceted study of addictions. [source]

ALDH2 Status, Alcohol Expectancies, and Alcohol Response: Preliminary Evidence for a Mediation Model

A Comparison of Correlates of DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse or Dependence Among More Than 400 Sons of Alcoholics and Controls

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2001
M. A. Schuckit
Background: Alcohol dependence and abuse are defined as separate disorders. However, relatively few data are available about whether the same characteristics predict both syndromes. Methods: Complete data were available from the 15 year follow-up of 411 men who originally had been evaluated from a university population at about age 20. Both baseline data gathered prospectively and the retrospective ratings in six domains of life functioning were analyzed for their relationship to the development of alcohol abuse or dependence during the follow-up. Results: Baseline characteristics of a family history of substance use disorders, the quantity and frequency of drinking, the history of alcohol-related problems, and the level of response to alcohol all predicted future alcohol abuse or dependence, but only an alcoholic second-degree relative or a first-degree drug-dependent family member differentially predicted dependence. Logistic regression analyses revealed that similar baseline characteristics combined to predict dependence and, separately, abuse. When the domains of functioning during the 15 years were included, positive alcohol expectancies, poor coping mechanisms, low level of social support, and drinking in the environment contributed to both dependence and abuse, although the relationship was stronger for dependence. Conclusions: The predictors and correlates of alcohol abuse and dependence in this group of men were similar. Further research in additional populations and on other drugs is needed to determine if the two syndromes overlap sufficiently to be combined. [source]