Alcohol, sexual arousal, and intentions to use condoms in young men: Applying alcohol myopia theory to risky sexual behavior.

Data from 7 studies were aggregated to examine how reported sexual arousal and alcohol intoxication interact to affect attitudes and intentions toward engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse in college-age men (N?=?358). When participants were in a sober or placebo condition, their self-reports of sexual arousal had no effect on their responses. When participants were intoxicated, however, those who felt sexually aroused reported more favorable attitudes, thoughts, and intentions toward having unprotected sex than did those who did not feel aroused. These findings support alcohol myopia theory (C. A Steele & R. A. Josephs, 1990), which states that alcohol intoxication restricts attentional capacity so that people are highly influenced by the most salient cues in their environment. It is suggested that sexual arousal is a powerful internal cue that interacts with alcohol intoxication to enhance attitudes and intentions toward risky sexual behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dodecylphosphocholine micelles as a membrane-like environment: new results from NMR relaxation and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement analysis

PURPOSE: To identify specific alcohol use beliefs and behaviors among local high school students; to determine whether relationships exist between alcohol use and various sociodemographic and lifestyle behaviors; and to assist in the development and implementation of alcohol abuse prevention programs. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved the completion of a questionnaire by 1236 Grade 9-13 students (86% response rate) from 62 randomly selected classrooms in three Canadian urban schools. Data analyzed here are part of a larger lifestyle survey. RESULTS: A total of 24% of students reported never having tasted alcohol, 22% have tasted alcohol but do not currently drink, 39% are current moderate drinkers, 11% are current heavy drinkers (five or more drinks on one occasion at least once a month), and 5% did not answer. Reasons stated most often for not drinking were "bad for health" and "upbringing," while reasons stated most often for drinking were "enjoy it" and "to get in a party mood." Student drinking patterns were significantly related to gender, ethnicity, grade, and the reported drinking habits of parents and friends. Older male adolescents who describe their ethnicity as Canadian are at higher risk for heavy drinking than students who are younger or female, or identify their ethnicity as European or Asian. Current heavy drinkers are at higher risk than other students for engaging in other high-risk behaviors such as drinking and driving, being a passenger in a car when the driver is intoxicated, and daily smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy alcohol use in adolescents remains an important community health concern. Older self-described Canadian and Canadian-born male adolescents are at higher risk for heavy drinking. Current and heavy drinking rises significantly between Grades 9 and 12. Students who drink heavily are more likely to drink and drive, to smoke daily, and to have friends and parents who drink alcohol.     

Coronary intervention 1996

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether the number of alcohol-containing beverages consumed by adolescents attending a "typical" high school weekend party was planned or spontaneous. A second objective was to understand the role of the designated driver and whether he or she honored a pledge of sobriety. METHODS: A printed, anonymous survey with signed informed consent was distributed to 52 high school students from three different suburban high schools during three weekend high school parties. In addition, subjects underwent breath alcohol testing using the Intoximeter breath alcohol instrument. Salivary alcohol measurements were also obtained using Alco-Screen. Levels were measured in volunteers on entry and exit from the party. RESULTS: Fifty-two students volunteered to participate in the survey. Eleven participants volunteered to be designated drivers, nine of whom did not drink alcohol at this party. By the end of each party, the 26 boys had consumed a mean of 10 drinks, and the 16 girls had consumed 4.1 drinks, almost exactly what they had predicted at the time of arrival. By departure time, 22 (54%) of the drinkers had a breath alcohol value of .10 g/dL or greater, while only three (7%), had alcohol values of .02 g/dL or less. Blackouts were common and had been experienced by 73% of all the students surveyed. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed had been involved in some form of physical violence while drinking. Eleven percent of the female participants reported being sexually assaulted while they or their attacker were drunk. Most of the 42 drinkers believed that it was acceptable for designated drivers to drink at least two beers. Two intoxicated designated drivers were driven home by sober friends. CONCLUSIONS: High school students in this study knew before attending a party the quantity of beer they would consume. Survey participants believed that it is acceptable practice for designated drivers to drink alcohol at parties; 13% of those who intended to drive after these parties were intoxicated.     

Alcohol outcome expectancies, attitudes toward drinking and the theory of planned behavior

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated whether alcohol outcome expectancies are empirically distinguishable from attitudes toward drinking. Specifically, the contribution of expectancies and attitudes to the Theory of Planned Behavior was assessed. METHOD: Undergraduates (N = 316; 170 male), of legal drinking age, who drank at least once a month participated. Intentions to drink "too much" and self-report excessive consumption episodes served as criterion measures, and attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and alcohol outcome expectancies were employed as predictor variables. Stepwise regression analyses were performed separately for men and women. RESULTS: The Theory of Planned Behavior appeared to be a valid framework for predicting excessive alcohol consumption among undergraduates. The predictive power of the model, however, was enhanced through the inclusion of gender-specific alcohol outcome expectancies. Specifically, in addition to attitudes and perceived behavioral control, women's expectancies for sociability enhanced the prediction of intentions to drink "too much." Expectancies for sexual functioning (male) and assertiveness (female) improved the prediction of excessive consumption, over and above intentions and perceived behavioral control. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol outcome expectancies, unlike attitudes, are proximal predictors of excessive alcohol consumption among undergraduates.     

Protein solution structure calculations in solution: solvated molecular dynamics refinement of calbindin D9k

Data were collected on the drinking behavior of 415 pregnant adolescents from 1990 to 1994. The relationships between knowledge and attitudes about drinking and drinking behavior were examined. Knowledge about drinking was not related to average daily volume of alcohol before or during pregnancy. Those with specific knowledge about fetal alcohol effects drank less before pregnancy, and in the first trimester, and were also less likely to drink to intoxication. Among drinkers, general knowledge about drinking was significantly related to a decrease in drinking between pre-pregnancy and first trimester, as well as between first and third trimesters. Those with more intolerant attitudes about drinking drank less before and during pregnancy. They had fewer episodes of binge drinking, intoxication, negative consequences, and problem drinking during pregnancy. They were more likely to decrease drinking from the first to third trimesters. These relationships are relevant to developing effective education programs for the high-risk group of pregnant teenagers who drink.     

Accelerated maturation of fetal ductus arteriosus by maternally administered vitamin A in rats

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Examination of alcohol consumption patterns of male spectators at two major-league baseball stadiums. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted at two stadiums over the course of three games at each venue. We approached 1,084 male spectators of drinking age in a consecutive fashion at two junctures: at the entrance gate and during the fifth inning inside the stadium's concourse. Of those approached, 747 (68.9%) participated. After verbal consent, participants completed a questionnaire and blew into a breath analyzer. The results were blinded and later analyzed. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of all participants tested positive for alcohol. The highest consumption occurred in the 20- to 35-year-old age group. In this age group, 50.8% had consumed some alcohol, and 10.8% had a blood alcohol level of .08% (intoxicated) or higher. Almost 5% of all participants tested during the fifth inning collection were intoxicated and claimed to be driving. CONCLUSION: Of the spectators tested, those in the 20- to 35-year-old age group were most likely to have consumed alcohol and to be legally intoxicated. A disturbing number of spectators who had blood alcohol levels of .08% or higher late in the game claimed to be driving home.     

Does alcohol use mediate the association between alcohol evaluations and alcohol-related problems in adolescents?

Alcohol use becomes more frequent during adolescence, with the percentage of youth who drink doubling from 8th grade to 12th grade. The escalation in drinking behavior during adolescence is often associated with increased problems and other risk behavior, such as drunk driving. In this study, adolescents (N?=?557) were recruited from an emergency department to assess their alcohol use, positive and negative evaluations about alcohol, driving after drinking, and problems experienced from drinking. Analyses explored the mediational role of drinking behavior between adolescents' evaluations and problems from drinking and between evaluations and driving after drinking. The findings indicated that drinking behavior partially mediated the association between positive evaluations and problems experienced from drinking but did not mediate the association between evaluations and drunk driving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol myopia and condom use: Can alcohol intoxication be associated with more prudent behavior?

We tested 2 competing theories about the effects of alcohol on intentions to engage in risky behavior. Disinhibition predicts that intoxicated people will exhibit risky behavior regardless of environmental cues, whereas alcohol myopia (C. M. Steele & R. A. Josephs, 1990) predicts that intoxicated people will be more or less likely to exhibit risky behavior, depending on the cues provided. In 4 studies, we found an interaction between intoxication and cue type. When impelling cues were present, intoxicated people reported greater intentions to have unprotected sex than did sober people. When subtle inhibiting cues were present, intoxicated and sober people reported equally cautious intentions (Studies 1-3). When strong inhibiting cues were present, intoxicated people reported more prudent intentions than did sober people (Study 4). We suggest that alcohol myopia provides a more comprehensive account of the effects of alcohol than does disinhibition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related differences in risks of drinking and driving in gender and ethnic groups

We examine the extent to which empirically observed age-related differences in rates of drinking and driving can be explained by concurrent differences in drinking patterns. Building on previous research showing significant age differences in drinking patterns between men and women and among three ethnic groups, Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, our study considers whether there are unique gender and ethnic group differences in patterns of drinking and driving. Data were from 4395 respondents 12 to 80 years old in a general population survey of 20 urban areas in the United States. During the month preceding the interview, 1130 (25.7%) of all respondents had driven after having one or more drinks. Drinking pattern measures included drinking frequency, average drinking quantity, and the variance in the number of drinks consumed per occasion. To assess the relationships of drinking patterns to drinking and driving across age groups, two sets of analyses were conducted, one set in which age differences in drinking patterns were statistically controlled and one set in which they were not. Although the statistical control for drinking patterns reduced age differences between gender and ethnic groups, it did not eliminate them. The reduction demonstrated that part of observed group differences in driving after drinking over age among gender and ethnic groups is due to age-related differences in drinking patterns. However, despite controlling drinking patterns young respondents remained more likely to drink and drive. A supplementary analysis of self-reported incidents of driving while intoxicated (i.e., driving after having five or more drinks) further indicated that, controlling for drinking patterns, young respondents are most at risk.     

Effects of alcohol intoxication on the perceived consequences of risk taking.

In 2 laboratory studies, the authors tested the hypothesis that intoxicated risk taking results from alcohol's effects on negative outcome expectancies. Young adults (N ?=?107) consumed alcohol or no alcohol and made ratings of the likelihood that negative and positive consequences would result from a variety of risky activities. Consistent with study hypotheses, participants rated negative consequences as less likely when they were intoxicated than when sober. Results were replicated in a second study (N ?=?88), which further showed that alcohol, rather than expectancy set, contributed to these reduced perceptions of risk. Findings provide the first experimental evidence that alcohol intoxication may contribute to risk-taking behavior by altering expectations about negative consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Targeted Naltrexone Treatment Moderates the Relations Between Mood and Drinking Behavior Among Problem Drinkers.

One hundred fifty-three problem drinkers were randomly assigned to receive naltrexone 50 mg or placebo on a daily or targeted (to high-risk drinking situations) basis. Using structured nightly diaries, participants recorded negative and positive mood, desire to drink, and alcohol consumption over 8 weeks. Results indicated that individuals engaged in any drinking and heavy drinking more on days characterized by relatively higher levels of positive or negative mood states. Naltrexone attenuated the positive association between heavy drinking and both positive and negative mood, and targeted administration attenuated the positive association between heavy drinking and positive mood. There was also evidence that desire to drink mediated the effect of targeted administration on the relation between positive mood and any drinking that day. These findings underscore the utility of daily measurement for understanding the processes that underlie pharmacological interventions for problem drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From the scene to the crime: The effect of alcohol and social context on moral judgment.

Forty men and women were given the Moral Judgment Interview (MJI) while drinking in a natural setting and were asked a series of questions about whether they should and would drive impaired. In a second testing in an academic context, these subjects were given an alternate form of the MJI and were asked whether they drove on the previous occasion. Forty additional men and women completed the MJI in an academic context and responded to the impaired driving questions hypothetically. Results revealed that Ss scored lower on moral maturity in the social drinking contexts than in the academic contexts, especially when highly intoxicated. Ss responding hypothetically attributed more moral integrity to themselves than to others, indicating they would not drive impaired. The self-righteousness of these attributions was apparent in the behavior of Ss who drove to the social drinking settings—all but 1 drove home, however impaired. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a drinking event on behavioral skills and condom attitudes in men: Implications for HIV risk from a controlled experiment.

This study experimentally tested the effects of a drinking event on HIV-related behavioral skills and condom attitudes. Sixty unmarried, heterosexual men were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions (sober, placebo, or alcohol). Participants who consumed alcohol demonstrated lower skill to negotiate for condom use relative to sober controls. More negative condom attitudes were expressed by participants with stronger sex-related alcohol expectancies, especially when these expectancies were triggered by subjective intoxication. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the experimental factors accounted for variance in behavioral skills and condom attitudes beyond that explained by known predictors of sexual risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Liability management or risk management? Evaluation of a Greek System alcohol policy.

The present study is an evaluation of a policy restricting access to alcohol for Greek System members. A cross-sectional comparison of drinking rates and attitudes toward the policy used 994 participants at the implementation of the policy and 1,051 participants 1 year after implementation. Results indicated that drinking per occasion was greater for men and women after the policy was implemented, and, in general, attitudes toward selected policy provisions were more negative. These results suggest that policies designed to manage liability may have unintended consequences related to increased risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of attitudes toward alcohol: Specific beverages differ from generic alcohol.

Examined the extent to which attitudes about alcohol in general differ from attitudes toward specific types of alcoholic beverages (e.g., beer, wine) and whether S variables such as drinking status and drink preference moderate alcohol-related attitudes. 82 male and 102 female college students completed a computerized attitude and drinking habits assessment. Ss did discriminate among alcoholic beverages on the dimensions of potency and positivity. Five of the 6 specific beverages were rated as less potent than generic alcohol (GA); mixed drinks were rated more positively than GA. Ss consistently rated their preferred beverage more positively than GA. Results suggest that the attitude structure characterizing specific alcoholic beverages differs from that of GA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of distributed arterial network models

In drinking and drug surveys, peers are perceived as drinking more and using more drugs than the respondent. Particularly in youth studies, this majority fallacy is often interpreted as an indication of peer pressure toward drinking and drug use. However, exaggerating the alcohol and drug behaviours of significant others may be a way of reducing cognitive dissonance. The behaviour of most people deviates from their ideal norms. The ensuing dissonance can be alleviated by introducing the behaviour of others as a third element in the cognitive field. Data from three Scandinavian surveys support the following two predictions based on the theory of cognitive dissonance: (1) The tendency to report that other people drink more than oneself is more marked in restrictive than in permissive communities. (2) On each level of alcohol intake, the tendency to report that other people drink more than oneself is stronger among respondents having negative alcohol attitudes than among respondents with positive attitudes to alcohol. The need to alleviate the cognitive dissonance caused by a discrepancy between actual behaviour and normative standards is thus one of the mechanisms generating the majority fallacy: "I may not be perfect, but other people are still worse". Feeling better than others does not necessarily amount to a pressure to turn bad.     

Alcohol breeds empty goal commitments.

According to alcohol-myopia theory (C. M. Steele & R. A. Josephs, 1990), alcohol leads individuals to disproportionally focus on the most salient aspects of a situation and to ignore peripheral information. The authors hypothesized that alcohol leads individuals to strongly commit to their goals without considering information about the probability of goal attainment. In Study 1, participants named their most important interpersonal goal, indicated their expectations of successfully attaining it, and then consumed either alcohol or a placebo. In contrast to participants who consumed a placebo, intoxicated participants felt strongly committed to their goals despite low expectations of attaining them. In Study 2, goal-directed actions were measured over time. Once sober again, intoxicated participants with low expectations did not follow up on their strong commitments. Apparently, when prospects are bleak, alcohol produces empty goal commitments, as commitments are not based on individuals’ expectations of attaining their goals and do not foster goal striving over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol intoxication on metamemory and on retrieval from long-term memory.

In a balanced-placebo design, 160 male moderate to heavy drinkers (aged 21–35 yrs) expected either an alcohol drink or placebo drink and consumed either alcohol (1 ml/kg) or placebo. Shortly thereafter, each S attempted to recall the answers to general-information questions (e.g., "What is the capital of Chile?"), made confidence judgments about the accuracy of recall, made feeling-of-knowing judgments on all nonrecalled items, and received a recognition test. Unanticipated outcomes included the following: (a) Alcohol intoxication significantly hindered recall from long-term memory, contrary to previous conclusions that alcohol does not affect retrieval; (b) Ss' expectancy of alcohol had no significant effect on memory or metamemory performance, contrary to its established effects on other kinds of performance; (c) Alcohol intoxication produced no significant overconfidence in judgments about recall or in feeling-of-knowing judgments, contrary to the overconfidence produced in other kinds of judgments such as an intoxicated person's assessment of his/her driving ability. This last outcome implies that alcohol intoxication does not produce a general lowering of the threshold for confidence but rather has effects that are situation specific. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simulated driving performance of adults with ADHD: Comparisons with alcohol intoxication.

Previous research has demonstrated that adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to experience driving-related problems, which suggests that they may exhibit poorer driving performance. However, direct experimental evidence of this hypothesis is limited. The current study involved 2 experiments that evaluated driving performance in adults with ADHD in terms of the types of driving decrements typically associated with alcohol intoxication. Experiment 1 compared the simulated driving performance of 15 adults with ADHD to 23 adult control participants, who performed the task both while sober and intoxicated. Results showed that sober adults with ADHD exhibited decrements in driving performance compared to sober controls, and that the profile of impairment for the sober ADHD group did in fact resemble that of intoxicated drivers at the blood alcohol concentration level for legally impaired driving in the United States. Driving impairment of the intoxicated individuals was characterized by greater deviation of lane position, faster and more abrupt steering maneuvers, and increased speed variability. Experiment 2 was a dose-challenge study in which 8 adults with ADHD and 8 controls performed the driving simulation task under 3 doses of alcohol: 0.65g/kg, 0.45g/kg, and 0.0g/kg (placebo). Results showed that driving performance in both groups was impaired in response to alcohol, and that individuals with ADHD exhibited generally poorer driving performance than did controls across all dose conditions. Together the findings provide compelling evidence to suggest that the cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with ADHD might impair driving performance in such a manner as to resemble that of an alcohol intoxicated driver. Moreover, alcohol might impair the performance of drivers with ADHD in an additive fashion that could considerably compromise their driving skill even at blood alcohol concentrations below the legal limit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)