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

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.

[1]  R. Engels,et al.  Friend's drinking behaviour and adolescent alcohol consumption: the moderating role of friendship characteristics. , 2005, Addictive behaviors.

[2]  T. Palfai,et al.  Gender, alcohol consumption, and differing alcohol expectancy dimensions in college drinkers. , 2004, Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology.

[3]  S. Barnow,et al.  Do alcohol expectancies and peer delinquency/substance use mediate the relationship between impulsivity and drinking behaviour in adolescence? , 2004, Alcohol and alcoholism.

[4]  R. Lalonde,et al.  Do alcohol expectancies become intoxicated outcomes? A test of social-learning theory in a naturalistic bar setting. , 2003, Addictive behaviors.

[5]  T. Greenfield,et al.  The average ethanol content of beer in the U.S. and individual states: estimates for use in aggregate consumption statistics. , 2003, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[6]  R. Wiers,et al.  Implicit and explicit alcohol-related cognitions in heavy and light drinkers. , 2002, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[7]  S. Armeli,et al.  Daily interpersonal experiences, context, and alcohol consumption: crying in your beer and toasting good times. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[8]  B T Jones,et al.  A review of expectancy theory and alcohol consumption. , 2001, Addiction.

[9]  K. Berridge,et al.  Incentive-sensitization and addiction. , 2001, Addiction.

[10]  J. Bryant,et al.  Gender and Context Differences in Alcohol Expectancies , 2000, The Journal of social psychology.

[11]  D. McKay,et al.  The effects of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on subjective reports and physiological reactivity: a meta-analysis. , 1999, Addictive behaviors.

[12]  N. Lee,et al.  The relationship of positive and negative alcohol expectancies to patterns of consumption of alcohol in social drinkers. , 1999, Addictive behaviors.

[13]  C. Patrick,et al.  Alcohol and Emotional Response: A Multidimensional-Multilevel Analysis , 1999 .

[14]  R. Engels,et al.  Why Do Late Adolescents Drink at Home? A Study on Psychological Well-Being, Social Integration and Drinking Context , 1999 .

[15]  M. Goldman,et al.  Alcohol expectancy theory: The application ofcognitive neuroscience , 1999 .

[16]  R. Collins,et al.  The modeling of alcohol consumption: a meta-analytic review. , 1999, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[17]  E. J. Sharkansky,et al.  Effects of outcome expectancies and disinhibition on ad lib alcohol consumption. , 1998, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[18]  B. Leigh,et al.  Two-year longitudinal study of alcohol expectancies and drinking among Norwegian adolescents. , 1998, Addiction.

[19]  R. Engels,et al.  Inconsistencies in adolescents' self-reports of initiation of alcohol and tobacco use. , 1997, Addictive behaviors.

[20]  R. Wiers,et al.  High- and low-dose alcohol-related expectancies and the differential associations with drinking in male and female adolescents and young adults. , 1997, Addiction.

[21]  M. Goldman,et al.  A Confirmatory Test of Hierarchical Expectancy Structure and Predictive Power: Discriminant Validation of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire. , 1997 .

[22]  A W Stacy,et al.  Memory activation and expectancy as prospective predictors of alcohol and marijuana use. , 1997, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[23]  K. Sher,et al.  Alcohol outcome expectancies and alcohol use: a latent variable cross-lagged panel study. , 1996, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[24]  K. Bauman,et al.  On the importance of peer influence for adolescent drug use: commonly neglected considerations. , 1996, Addiction.

[25]  K. Carey.  Alcohol-related expectancies predict quantity and frequency of heavy drinking among college students. , 1995 .

[26]  M. L. Cooper,et al.  A revised Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire: factor structure confirmation, and invariance in a general population sample. , 1995, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[27]  R. Knibbe,et al.  Problem drinking in a general practice population: the construction of an interval scale for severity of problem drinking. , 1994, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[28]  K. Fromme,et al.  Comprehensive effects of alcohol: Development and psychometric assessment of a new expectancy questionnaire. , 1993 .

[29]  M. Goldman,et al.  Empirical modeling of an alcohol expectancy memory network using multidimensional scaling. , 1992, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[30]  R. Knibbe,et al.  Young people's alcohol consumption in public drinking places: reasoned behaviour or related to the situation? , 1991, British journal of addiction.

[31]  L. V. D. Goor.  Situational aspects of adolescent drinking behavior , 1990 .

[32]  B. Leigh.  In search of the Seven Dwarves: issues of measurement and meaning in alcohol expectancy research. , 1989, Psychological bulletin.

[33]  M. L. Cooper,et al.  Coping, expectancies, and alcohol abuse: a test of social learning formulations. , 1988, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[34]  H. Goldstein.  Multilevel Statistical Models , 2006 .

[35]  D. Abrams,et al.  Social learning theory of alcohol use and abuse , 1987 .

[36]  Kenneth E. Leonard,et al.  Psychological Theories of Drinking and Alcoholism , 1986 .

[37]  M. Goldman,et al.  Expectations of reinforcement from alcohol: their domain and relation to drinking patterns. , 1980, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[38]  A. Bandura.  Social learning theory , 1977 .