Alcohol-induced disinhibition expectancies and impaired control as prospective predictors of problem drinking in undergraduates.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 24(3) of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (see record 2010-19026-008). The table headings in Table 5, p. 561 should have read “Time 2 alcohol related problems” and “Time 2 heavy episodic drinking”.] Trait disinhibition is associated with problem drinking and alcohol drinking can bring about a state of disinhibition. It is unclear however, if expectancies of alcohol-induced disinhibition are unique predictors of problem drinking. Impaired control (i.e., difficulty in limiting alcohol consumption) may be related to disinhibition expectancies in that both involve issues of control related to alcohol use. Data from a prospective survey of undergraduates assessed during freshman (N = 337) and senior year (N = 201) were analyzed to determine whether subscales of the Drinking-Induced Disinhibition Scale (Leeman, Toll, & Volpicelli, 2007) and the Impaired Control Scale (Heather et al., 1993) predicted unique variance in heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems. In Time 1 cross-sectional models, Dysphoric disinhibition expectancies predicted alcohol-related problems and impaired control predicted both alcohol-related problems and heavy episodic drinking. In prospective models, Time 1 impaired control predicted Time 2 alcohol-related problems and Time 1 Euphoric/social Disinhibition expectancies predicted Time 2 heavy episodic drinking. These findings suggest that expectancies of alcohol-induced disinhibition and impaired control predict unique variance in problem drinking cross-sectionally and prospectively, and that these phenomena should be targeted in early intervention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Leeman, Toll, Taylor, and Volpicelli (2009).

Reports an error in "Alcohol-induced disinhibition expectancies and impaired control as prospective predictors of problem drinking in undergraduates" by Robert F. Leeman, Benjamin A. Toll, Laura A. Taylor and Joseph R. Volpicelli (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2009[Dec], Vol 23[4], 553-563). The table headings in Table 5, p. 561 should have read “Time 2 alcohol related problems” and “Time 2 heavy episodic drinking”. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-24023-001.) Trait disinhibition is associated with problem drinking and alcohol drinking can bring about a state of disinhibition. It is unclear however, if expectancies of alcohol-induced disinhibition are unique predictors of problem drinking. Impaired control (i.e., difficulty in limiting alcohol consumption) may be related to disinhibition expectancies in that both involve issues of control related to alcohol use. Data from a prospective survey of undergraduates assessed during freshman (N = 337) and senior year (N = 201) were analyzed to determine whether subscales of the Drinking-Induced Disinhibition Scale (Leeman, Toll, & Volpicelli, 2007) and the Impaired Control Scale (Heather et al., 1993) predicted unique variance in heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems. In Time 1 cross-sectional models, Dysphoric disinhibition expectancies predicted alcohol-related problems and impaired control predicted both alcohol-related problems and heavy episodic drinking. In prospective models, Time 1 impaired control predicted Time 2 alcohol-related problems and Time 1 Euphoric/social Disinhibition expectancies predicted Time 2 heavy episodic drinking. These findings suggest that expectancies of alcohol-induced disinhibition and impaired control predict unique variance in problem drinking cross-sectionally and prospectively, and that these phenomena should be targeted in early intervention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating disinhibition and learning risk for alcohol use.

In this study the authors tested the acquired preparedness model of problem drinking, which holds that trait disinhibition, defined as neurotic extraversion by C. M. Patternson and J. P. Newman (1993), leads to the biased formation of positive over negative alcohol expectancies. Positive expectancies thus mediate disinhibition's influence on drinking. The authors also hypothesized that disinhibition moderates the expectancy–drinking relationship such that disinhibited individuals are more likely to act on their positive expectancies. In Study 1, positive expectancies both mediated and moderated the disinhibition–drinking relationship. In Study 2, learning task results indicated that disinhibited individuals sought reward, even when passive avoidance of punishment was indicated. Study 2 also replicated Study 1 hypotheses for men but generally not for women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of item response and differential item functioning of alcohol expectancies in middle school youths.

Drinking behavior in preadolescence is a significant predictor of both short- and long-term negative consequences. This study examined the psychometric properties of 1 known risk factor for drinking in this age group, alcohol expectancies, within an item response theory framework. In a sample of middle school youths (N = 1,273), the authors tested differential item functioning (DIF) in positive and negative alcohol expectancies across grade, gender, and ethnicity. Multiple-indicator multiple-cause model analyses tested differences in alcohol use as a potential explanation for observed DIF across groups. Results showed that most expectancy items did not exhibit DIF. For items where DIF was indicated, differences in alcohol use did not explain differences in item parameters. Positive and negative expectancies also systematically differed in the location parameter. Latent variable scale scores of both positive and negative expectancies were associated with drinking behavior cross-sectionally, while only positive expectancies predicted drinking prospectively. Improving the measurement of alcohol expectancies can help researchers better assess this important risk factor for drinking in this population, particularly the identification of those with either very high positive or very low negative alcohol expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregaming in high school students: Relevance to risky drinking practices, alcohol cognitions, and the social drinking context.

Pregaming is the practice of consuming alcohol prior to going out to a social event. Although pregaming has begun to receive research attention in the college setting, very little is known about this risky drinking behavior in high school students. As pregaming has health implications for both students who are college bound and those who are not, we examined the prevalence of this behavior in a sample of high school students who reported current alcohol use and completed pregaming measures (n = 233). The present study examined the associations of gender, age, alcohol expectancies, motivations for drinking (e.g., social, enhancement, and coping), and engagement in other risky drinking practices (i.e., general hazardous use and drinking game participation) with pregaming. Results indicate that pregaming was significantly associated with being older, being a male, having high levels of hazardous alcohol use, and participating in drinking games frequently. Pregaming also occurred most often before parties and sporting events and it was associated positively with frequency of attendance at parties where alcohol is available, the tendency to use alcohol at these parties, and the amount of alcohol consumed at these parties. We discuss the findings in the context of pregaming research that has been conducted with college students, and make suggestions regarding prevention and intervention efforts focused on this risky drinking practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thinking and drinking: Alcohol-related cognitions across stages of adolescent alcohol involvement.

Alcohol-related cognitions, particularly expectancies for drinking and nondrinking and motives for nondrinking, are involved in the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of alcohol use and are hypothesized to play key roles in adolescent decision making. This study explored (a) the relationships between alcohol use expectancies, nondrinking expectancies, and nondrinking motives; (b) the roles of these cognitions across hypothesized developmental stages of adolescent alcohol use; and (c) the relationships between these cognitions and recent or intended future changes in drinking behavior in a cross-sectional sample. Surveys assessing alcohol use behaviors and attitudes were administered to 1,648 high school students. Heavier drinkers reported more positive alcohol use expectancies and fewer nondrinking motives than did lighter drinkers or nondrinkers; however, nondrinking expectancies only differed between nondrinkers and rare drinkers and all subsequent drinking classes. Alcohol use expectancies, nondrinking expectancies, and nondrinking motives differentiated students who recently initiated alcohol from those who had not, while nondrinking expectancies and nondrinking motives differentiated binge-drinking students who had made recent efforts to reduce/stop their drinking from those who had not. Intentions to initiate or reduce drinking in the coming month were also associated with these alcohol-related cognitions. Drinking and nondrinking expectancies and motives for not drinking may play critical roles in decisions to alter alcohol-use behavior during adolescence. Future exploration of temporal relationships between changes in alcohol-related cognitions and behavioral decision making will be useful in the refinement of effective prevention and intervention strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the role of drinking motives in college student alcohol use and problems.

A motivational model of alcohol involvement (M. L. Cooper, M. R. Frone, M. Russell, & P. Mudar, 1995) was replicated and extended by incorporating social antecedents and motives and by testing this model cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a sample of college students. Participants (N = 388) completed a questionnaire battery assessing alcohol use and problems, alcohol expectancies, sensation seeking, negative affect, social influences, and drinking motives. Associations among psychosocial antecedents, drinking motives, and alcohol involvement differed from those found by M. L. Cooper et al. (1995). These findings point to the importance of social influences and of positive reinforcement motives but not to the centrality of drinking motives in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol expectancy priming and drinking behavior: The role of compatibility between prime and expectancy content.

According to information-processing models of alcohol use, alcohol expectancies constitute representations in long-term memory that may be activated in the presence of drinking-related cues, thereby influencing alcohol consumption. A fundamental implication of this approach is that primed expectancies should affect drinking only for those individuals who possess the specific expectancies primed. To test this notion, in the present study, participants were initially assessed on 3 distinct domains of positive alcohol expectancies. Approximately 1 week later, they completed an ad libitum drinking study during which only a single expectancy domain (sociability) was primed in the experimental condition. Consistent with predictions, following exposure to sociability primes but not control primes, individuals with stronger expectancies that alcohol would enhance sociability uniquely showed increased placebo consumption of nonalcoholic beer. These results, which demonstrate the moderating role of compatibility between the specific content of primes and that of underlying expectancies, offer new, direct support for memory network-based models of drinking behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Same wording, distinct concepts? Testing differences between expectancies and motives in a mediation model of alcohol outcomes.

Per definition, alcohol expectancies (after alcohol I expect X), and drinking motives (I drink to achieve X) are conceptually distinct constructs. Theorists have argued that motives mediate the association between expectancies and drinking outcomes. Yet, given the use of different instruments, do these constructs remain distinct when assessment items are matched? The present study tested to what extent motives mediated the link between expectancies and alcohol outcomes when identical items were used, first as expectancies and then as motives. A linear structural equation model was estimated based on a national representative sample of 5,779 alcohol-using students in Switzerland (mean age = 15.2 years). The results showed that expectancies explained up to 38% of the variance in motives. Together with motives, they explained up to 48% of the variance in alcohol outcomes (volume, 5+ drinking, and problems). In 10 of 12 outcomes, there was a significant mediated effect that was often higher than the direct expectancy effect. For coping, the expectancy effect was close to zero, indicating the strongest form of mediation. In only one case (conformity and 5+ drinking), there was a direct expectancy effect but no mediation. To conclude, the study demonstrates that motives are distinct from expectancies even when identical items are used. Motives are more proximally related to different alcohol outcomes, often mediating the effects of expectancies. Consequently, the effectiveness of interventions, particularly those aimed at coping drinkers, should be improved through a shift in focus from expectancies to drinking motives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of a single-session expectancy challenge intervention to reduce alcohol use among college students.

In this study, the authors developed and evaluated a single-session experiential expectancy challenge (EC) intervention, seeking to reduce alcohol use by changing key positive expectancies among moderate to heavy drinking male and female college students. Participants (N=217) were randomly assigned to attend a 90- to 120-min EC session, CD-ROM alcohol education, or assessment only. Participants were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 1-month follow-up. Exposure to the EC intervention led to significant decreases in alcohol expectancies and subsequent alcohol consumption in both genders at follow-up. No significant changes were evident in either control condition. This study is the first to effectively decrease expectancies and drinking in college students with a single-session EC intervention. Further, although several studies have demonstrated the utility of the intervention with men, it is the first to do so with women. This study represents a critical step in the process of translating an innovative, theory-based intervention into a more practical format that makes it more accessible to those who seek effective drinking-reduction strategies for college campuses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is expectancy reality? Associations between tension reduction beliefs and mood following alcohol consumption.

The present study investigated whether tension reduction expectancies were uniquely associated with self-reported mood following in-lab alcohol administration, given that little research has addressed this association. We also tested whether level of experience with alcohol, which may influence the learning of expectancies, moderated expectancy-mood associations. Regularly drinking college students (N = 145) recruited through advertisements completed self-report measures of positive alcohol expectancies, alcohol involvement, demographics, and pre- and post-drinking mood, and then consumed alcohol ad libitum up to four drinks in the laboratory. Regression analyses controlling for pre-consumption mood, blood alcohol concentration, and all other positive expectancies showed tension reduction expectancies to be a marginally significant positive predictor of negative mood post-drinking. This association was significant only for those who achieved lower blood alcohol concentrations in lab and those who reported less involvement with alcohol (i.e., lower typical quantity, heavy episodic drinking frequency, and years of regular drinking). Findings suggest that associations between expectations for mood and actual post-drinking mood outcomes may operate differently for less versus more involved drinkers. Clinical implications pertain to early intervention, when expectancies may be less ingrained and perhaps more readily modified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental alcohol involvement and adolescent alcohol expectancies predict alcohol involvement in male adolescents.

Current models of adolescent drinking behavior hypothesize that alcohol expectancies mediate the effects of other proximal and distal risk factors. This longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that the effects of parental alcohol involvement on their children's drinking behavior in mid-adolescence are mediated by the children's alcohol expectancies in early adolescence. A sample of 148 initially 9–11 year old boys and their parents from a high-risk population and a contrast group of community families completed measures of drinking behavior and alcohol expectancies over a 6-year interval. We analyzed data from middle childhood (M age = 10.4 years), early adolescence (M age = 13.5 years), and mid-adolescence (M age = 16.5 years). The sample was restricted only to adolescents who had begun to drink by mid-adolescence. Results from zero-inflated Poisson regression analyses showed that 1) maternal drinking during their children's middle childhood predicted number of drinking days in middle adolescence; 2) negative and positive alcohol expectancies in early adolescence predicted odds of any intoxication in middle adolescence; and 3) paternal alcoholism during their children's middle childhood and adolescents' alcohol expectancies in early adolescence predicted frequency of intoxication in middle adolescence. Contrary to predictions, child alcohol expectancies did not mediate the effects of parental alcohol involvement in this high-risk sample. Different aspects of parental alcohol involvement, along with early adolescent alcohol expectancies, independently predicted adolescent drinking behavior in middle adolescence. Alternative pathways for the influence of maternal and paternal alcohol involvement and implications for expectancy models of adolescent drinking behavior were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender, Alcohol Consumption, and Differing Alcohol Expectancy Dimensions in College Drinkers.

Examinations of gender differences in alcohol expectancies among college drinkers typically have used self-report measures to assess single expectancy dimensions and often have been confounded by drinking level. This study examined gender differences in alcohol expectancies using 2 assessment methods. College students (N = 88) completed self-report questionnaires, including expectancy likelihood and subjective evaluation endorsements of expectancies, and a computerized expectancy accessibility task. Expectancy accessibility and endorsement were modestly correlated, with higher alcohol consumption and female gender linked to greater accessibility and endorsement of social enhancement expectancies. Gender moderated the relation between consumption and sociability expectancy accessibility; among men, heavier drinking was associated with more rapid activation of expectancies. Findings suggest complexity in associations among these variables and underscore the need to capture the multidimensionality of the expectancy construct and its relationship to alcohol use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol outcome expectancies as socially shared and socialized beliefs.

Alcohol expectancies are important predictors of alcohol involvement in both adolescents and adults, yet little research has examined the social origins and transmission of these beliefs. This paper examined alcohol outcome expectancies collected in a cohort-sequential longitudinal study of 452 families with children followed over seven waves. Children completed interviews every 6 months, and parents completed interviews annually. Eighteen of 27 alcohol expectancies were highly consensual, being endorsed by significantly more than 67% of the mothers and fathers. These consensual expectancies were also highly stable over a 3-year period. Over the same period, children increased their adoption of both the positive and negative consensual alcohol expectancies. Unconditional latent growth modeling showed that piece-wise growth models with a transition at age 12 fit the data best. Both the positive and negative consensual expectancies were adopted at a faster rate between ages 8.5 and 11.5 than between ages 12 and 13.5. For negative expectancies, there was no further growth between ages 12 and 13.5. Taken together, these findings support the conceptualization of alcohol outcome expectancies as socially shared and transmitted beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent alcohol expectancies in relation to personal and parental drinking patterns.

Increased expectations of positive effects of alcohol have been associated with severity of drinking across a variety of abusing and nonabusing adult populations. Although alcohol expectancies have been examined among high school adolescents, no study has examined expectancies of identified adolescent abusers in treatment. This study investigated whether adolescent alcohol abusers in treatment expect significantly more reinforcement from alcohol than do nonabusing peers and whether expectancies vary as a function of exposure to parental alcohol abuse. The adolescent version of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (Christiansen, Goldman, & Inn, 1982) was completed by 116 abusing and nonabusing adolescents. Results indicate that adolescent alcohol abusers expect significantly more reinforcement from alcohol than do demographically comparable nonabusing peers. Adolescents with an alcohol-abusing parent reported expecting more cognitive and motor enhancement from drinking than did adolescents without a family history of abuse. Thus, both personal alcohol use and parental alcohol use are related to adolescent alcohol expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol expectancies and the risk for alcoholism.

The current study examined alcohol expectancies and drinking motives as correlates of alcohol involvement among adolescents at high and low risk for future alcoholism. Measures of alcohol expectancies, drinking motives, presumed personality risk for alcoholism, family history of alcoholism, and alcohol involvement were completed by 979 high school students. Alcohol expectancies and drinking motives were found to vary as a function of risk status. More important, the strength of the relations between alcohol expectancies or drinking motives and alcohol involvement varied as a function of risk status. Expectancies of altered social behavior were particularly associated with low-risk drinking. Expectancies of enhanced cognitive and motor functioning, expectancies of tension reduction, expectancies of deteriorated cognitive and behavioral functioning, personal motives, and power motives were particularly associated with high-risk drinking. These expectancies and motives are of potential prognostic significance in the development of alcoholism and may be important targets for modification in primary prevention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol primes, expectancies, and the working self-concept.

Previous research has shown that alcohol consumption can lead to momentary changes in the self-concept (e.g., Steele & Josephs, 1990). In two studies (n = 150), we examined whether the implicit activation of alcohol expectancies (i.e., sociability-related expectancies) would also lead to changes in self-perception. To test this idea, participants first completed a measure of sociability-related alcohol expectancies. In a subsequent laboratory session, participants were exposed to either alcohol-related primes (i.e., pictures or words associated with alcohol) or neutral primes. After the priming task, participants completed an ostensibly unrelated self-concept survey that contained words related to sociability (e.g., “outgoing”) and nonsociability related words (e.g., “clever”). For both studies, results revealed that sociability-related alcohol expectancies were positively associated with sociability-related self-concept ratings for participants exposed to alcohol primes, but not for participants exposed to the neutral primes. Implications for the role implicit self-concept activation may have on drinking behaviors are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a measure of drinking and driving expectancies for youth.

The present study constructs and provides initial validation for a measure of positive expectancies for drinking and driving for use with adolescents and young adults (PEDD-Y). In Study 1, items were generated through open-ended responses from high school- and college-age youth. Data collected from a 2nd sample of college students (n = 404) identified a 29 item, 4 factor questionnaire. Two of the PEDD-Y factors (Convenience, Avoiding Consequences) explained additional variance in drinking and driving behavior above and beyond other cognitions about drinking and driving. Study 2 extended these results to a high school sample (n = 185). Study 3 demonstrated test-retest reliability of the PEDD-Y in college-age youth (n = 165). These results provide initial evidence for the utility of the PEDD-Y in assessing drinking and driving risk in adolescents and college students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compelled to consume: The Implicit Association Test and automatic alcohol motivation.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) has recently been used to assess the role of alcohol-affect associations in drinking behavior. The current study examined the validity of an alcohol IAT with 88 hazardous-drinking college students who completed measures of drinking behavior, an explicit measure of alcohol motivation, and an IAT that assessed alcohol-motivation associations. Regression analyses indicated that IAT scores correlated with binge drinking and cue reactivity, replicating T. P. Palfai and B. D. Ostafin's (2003) results. Results also indicated convergent validity (the IAT was related to an explicit measure of alcohol motivation) and incremental validity (IAT scores were correlated with alcohol behavior after controlling for the explicit measure). Implications for understanding the self-regulation of drinking are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Drinking patterns and dating violence among college students": Correction to Williams and Smith.

Reports an error in "Drinking patterns and dating violence among college students" by Janice G. Williams and J. Patrick Smith (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 1994[Mar], Vol 8[1], 51-53). The first author's name in the second entry of the References on page 53 was misspelled. The correct reference appears in the erratum. Likewise, the citation on page 52 in the first paragraph in the Materials and Procedure section should read "Cahalan, Cisin, & Crossley, 1985." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1994-40914-001.) Investigated the relationships between 221 college students' (1) alcohol use, (2) perceived antecedents and consequences of alcohol use, and (3) experience with dating violence. It was hypothesized that the highest level of dating violence would occur in those Ss who reported drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and having the expectation that drinking would have negative effects on their behavior. Ss completed a questionnaire measuring the 3 factors being studied. Results of a multiple regression analysis supported the hypothesis: Higher dating violence was predicted by lower use of alcohol and by stronger expectancies of negative effects of alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)