Stress, expectancies, and vulnerability to substance abuse: A test of a model among homosexual men.

We hypothesize that specific attitudes or expectancies make people vulnerable to responding to stress via alcohol or drugs. This "stress-vulnerability" model was tested among homosexual men, who show elevated rates of substance abuse and have culturally specific stressors and vulnerability. Tension reduction expectancies of alcohol effects had a substantial effect on alcohol and marijuana/drug abuse, as did the use of bars as a social resource. Two stress variables—negative affectivity and discrimination attributable to sexual orientation—also had significant, though more moderate effects. Interactions of the vulnerability measures with the stress variables had significant effects on substance abuse beyond the main effects, supporting the central hypothesis. In a second analysis both simple consumption levels and "high-risk" styles of alcohol or drug use predicted alcohol or drug problems better among vulnerable than among nonvulnerable respondents. These findings strongly supported a general stress-vulnerability model of substance abuse and illustrated several important risk factors in homosexual culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)