Alcohol-related expectancies versus demographic/background variables in the prediction of adolescent drinking.

The best method currently available for predicting adolescent alcohol consumption is to use the significant relationship that has been found between this variable and demographic/background variables. To assess the theoretical and practical utility of adolescent alcohol expectancies, the present authors pitted these expectancies against important demographic/background variables in the prediction of adolescent drinking. This comparison required 3 procedural steps: (a) factor analytic derivation of 3 adolescent drinking styles, (b) multiple regression prediction of these drinking styles using demographic/background variables, and (c) assessment of the predictive power of alcohol expectancies. Ss were 1,580 12–19 yr olds. Results show that expectancies (as measured by the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire for Adolescents) at least equalled and even added to the predictive power of the background variables. Specifically, Ss who drank in a frequent, social manner expected alcohol to enhance their social behavior, whereas Ss who reported alcohol-related problems expected an improvement in their cognitive and motor functioning. Results suggest assessment and treatment strategies for high-risk adolescents and indicate a possible mediator of adolescent drinking problems. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol-related expectancies: Defined by phase of intoxication and drinking experience.

Assessed common expectancies concerning the effects of alcohol by eliciting expectancy dimensions from 20 undergraduates in a pilot study and then having 253 undergraduates rate the effects they expected from drinking alcohol along these dimensions. Results show that Ss expected moderate drinking (Phase 1) to result in relatively greater stimulation/perceived dominance and pleasurable disinhibition, whereas for heavy drinking they expected a greater degree of behavioral impairment. Stimulation/perceived dominance and pleasurable disinhibition were linearly related to drinking habits for Phase 1 drinking, with heavier drinkers expecting greater stimulation and pleasure. Results suggest that expectancies are important in understanding drinking patterns as well as behavior in drinking situations. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural comparison of alcohol expectancies in Puerto Rico and the United States.

This study compared the alcohol expectancies of 211 (62 men, 149 women) native Puerto Rican and 167 (54 men, 113 women) U.S. college students. Respondents completed a back-translated alcohol expectancy questionnaire. Results were factor analyzed separately by ethnicity. Comparison of factor structures indicated similarities and differences in expectancy structures. Puerto Rican respondents showed a tendency to associate positive aspects of alcohol effects with an expectancy for increased sociability, whereas for U.S. respondents these dimensions appeared to be independent. Puerto Ricans also had expectations of concurrent positive and negative alcohol effects on sexual behavior. A strong relationship between alcohol expectancies and alcohol consumption patterns was observed in both samples. Positive expectancies were better predictors of drinking than negative expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When expectancy meets desire: Motivational effects in reconstructive memory.

Investigated, in 2 studies with 326 undergraduates, the effects of motivational factors on expectancy use in reconstructive memory. Ss were given a target's midterm grades for later recall; expectancies about the target's future performance were then manipulated. Ss' desires to see their expectancies confirmed were manipulated by making the target likable or unlikable. It was hypothesized that when expectancy and liking "matched," Ss would give significant weight to their expectancies at retrieval, resulting in expectancy-congruent distortion of the midterm grades. However, when expectancy and liking were "mismatched," expectancies would be discounted, and Ss would show little or not expectancy-congruent distortion. Results supported these predictions. Study 2 varied the order of the expectancy and liking information. Order affected the process by which mismatch Ss discounted their expectancies. Results demonstrate that motivations not only may bias memory search but also may affect the reconstruction of existing memory traces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of alcohol-related expectancies in adolescents: Separating pharmacological from social-learning influences.

Constructed an adolescent expectancy questionnaire for use with 1,580 Ss aged 12–19 yrs. Expectancy factor structure was determined separately in 12–24 yr olds, 15–26 yr olds, and 17–29 yr olds, and in low- vs high-experience drinkers. Six expectancy factors repeated across all age groups: Physical Tension Reduction, Diversion from Worry, Increased Interpersonal Power, Magical Transformation of Experiences, Enhanced Pleasure, and Modification of Social–Emotional Behavior. Five of these were present in Ss with little or no drinking experience. Expectancy factor content became more homogeneous with increasing drinking experience and age. Results indicate that relatively well-developed expectancies exist prior to alcohol usage, but that pharmacological experience with alcohol crystallizes existing expectancies. The factors extracted were remarkably consistent with those from factor analytic investigations of alcohol expectancies in adults. Findings suggest that intervention to decrease the risk of adult problem drinking must begin with children. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Replicated MMPI subtypes for alcoholic men and women: Relationship to self-reported drinking behaviors.

Derived replicated MMPI clusters for 188 inpatient alcoholic males (mean age 40 yrs) and 112 inpatient alcoholic females (mean age 41 yrs) and conducted subsequent MANOVAS with the resulting subtypes for men and women to evaluate differences on an alcohol-use inventory measuring Ss' alcohol expectancies, patterns of use, and drinking consequences. It is noted that shortcomings of previous cluster-analytic research include failure to replicate clusters across separate samples and lack of external measures against which to evaluate the predictive validity of cluster typologies. In the present study, the alcoholic male sample included 94 experimental and 94 replication Ss, while the female sample included 56 experimental and 56 replication Ss. The MMPI was administered to all 150 experimental Ss, and the same MMPI scale scores were obtained from replication Ss' hospital records. The alcohol-use inventory was administered to all 150 experimental Ss. MANOVA revealed significant differences among subtypes of alcoholic women, but relatively poor differentiation among subtypes of men by these measures. Among women, increasing psychopathology on the MMPI was predictive of increasing quantities of alcohol intake and other substance abuse, obsessive preoccupation with alcohol consumption, and affective and physiological disturbances related to drinking consequences. (31 ref) (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)     

ALDH2, ADH1B and alcohol expectancies: Integrating genetic and learning perspectives.

The present study evaluated associations of ALDH2 and ADH1B genotypes with alcohol expectancies and drinking behavior in a sample of Asian American young adults. In addition to assessing global alcohol expectancies, the authors developed a measure of physiological expectancies to evaluate an expectancy phenotype specific to the mechanism by which ALDH2 and ADH1B variations presumably influence drinking behavior. Compared with individuals with the ALDH2*1/*1 genotype, those with the ALDH2*2 allele reported greater negative alcohol expectancies, greater expectancies for physiological effects of alcohol and lower rates of alcohol use. ADH1B was not associated with alcohol expectancies or drinking behavior. Hierarchical models showed that demographic factors, ALDH2 genotype, and expectancy variables explained unique variance in drinking outcomes. Mediation tests showed significant indirect effects of ALDH2 on drinking frequency and peak lifetime consumption through expectancies. These results provide support for influences of genetic factors and alcohol sensitivity on alcohol-related learning and suggest the importance of developing biopsychosocial models of drinking behavior in Asian Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy challenge and drinking reduction: Experimental evidence for a mediational process.

Substantial correlational evidence supports a causal (mediational) interpretation of alcohol expectancy operation, but definitive support requires a true experimental test. Thus, moderately to heavily drinking male college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions in a pre–post design: expectancy challenge (designed to manipulate expectancy levels), "traditional" information, and assessment-only control. Expectancy challenge produced significant drinking decreases, compared with the other 2 groups. Decreases in measured expectancies paralleled drinking decreases in the challenge condition. Significant increases in alcohol knowledge in the traditional program were not associated with decreased drinking. These experimental findings support a causal (mediational) interpretation of expectancy operation. The implications for a cognitive (memory) model of expectancies and for prevention and intervention programs for problem drinking and alcoholism are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehensive effects of alcohol: Development and psychometric assessment of a new expectancy questionnaire.

A comprehensive measure of alcohol outcome expectancies was developed through the use of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The questionnaire assesses both positive and negative expected effects of alcohol as well as the subjective evaluation of those effects. The measure was found to demonstrate adequate internal consistency, temporal stability, and construct validity. Criterion validity was demonstrated through structural regression analyses of the independent and combined influences of outcome expectancies and subjective evaluation on 3 measures of alcohol use. Information on Ss' dose-related expectancies provided further validation of the expectancy construct and yielded information about the effects people associate with drinking different amounts of alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Levels of adult alcohol consumption induced by interactions with child confederates exhibiting normal versus externalizing behaviors.

Investigated levels of distress and alcohol consumption in Ss interacting with problematic vs nonproblematic child confederates. Social drinkers were randomly assigned to interact with boys trained to enact behaviors characteristic of either normal or attention-deficit disorder/conduct disorder (ADD/CD) children. Mood data were collected before and after the interaction. Ss engaged in ad lib beer consumption for 20 min, while anticipating another interaction with the same boy. Children in the ADD/CD role produced comparably distressed moods for both male and female Ss. However, only men drank to higher blood-alcohol levels in the ADD/CD vs. normal child condition. Results suggest that higher rates of drinking observed in fathers of ADD/CD children may be partly a function of their particular response to the distress associated with interactions with such children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol expectancies and their relationship to actual drinking experiences.

44 undergraduate normal drinkers participated in a social task in drinking and nondrinking conditions and rated their subjective experiences and their perception of experiences of other group members along 7 alcohol expectancy dimensions. In the drinking condition, Ss rated their experiences as being positively enhanced on those dimensions predicted by the expectancy literature, but did not report experiencing the negative cognitive and motor effects associated with alcohol consumption. It is concluded that in social situations, individuals' alcohol expectancies and experiences coincide for socially relevant variables, but do not for variables related to cognitive skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do alcohol expectancies mediate drinking patterns of adults?

Compared the reinforcement expectancies of adult alcoholics with beliefs of 2 other adult populations. 171 participants (mean age 42.8 yrs) in alcohol treatment programs, 65 hospitalized medical patients (mean age 42.6 yrs), and 344 college students (mean age 24 yrs) identified their beliefs about the consequences of alcohol consumption through an alcohol expectancy questionnaire (AEQ). Results indicate that the previously defined AEQ beliefs among nonalcoholic populations identified by S. A. Brown et al (1980) and B. A. Christiansen et al (see record 1982-25609-001) are applicable to alcoholic populations. In the present study, nonalcoholics and alcoholics differed significantly in terms of their alcohol expectancies. In general, alcoholics were found to maintain strong alcohol expectancies, and expectancies increased across and within populations as a function of drinking patterns. Theoretical, research, and clinical implications of these findings and the AEQ are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between expectancies for a helping relationship and tendency to seek help from a campus help provider.

236 undergraduate volunteers were randomly assigned to 1 of 7 experimental groups or a control group to complete a tendency-to-seek-help questionnaire. In addition, Ss in the experimental groups completed an expectancies-about-counseling questionnaire, designed to measure their expectancies about a helping interview with 7 campus help providers: advisor, career counselor, clinical psychologist, college counselor, counseling psychologist, peer counselor, and psychiatrist. Analysis of the data revealed (a) differences in the expectancies Ss held for the 7 campus help providers, (b) differences in the Ss' tendency to seek help from the 7 campus help providers for personal and career problems, and (c) relationships between the Ss' expectancies for a help provider and their tendency to turn to that help provider for assistance with a personal or career concern. (34 ref) (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)     

Modeling of alcohol use mediates the effect of family history of alcoholism on adolescent alcohol expectancies.

The relative impact of biological family history of alcoholism and exposure to abusive parental drinking on alcohol effect expectancies of adolescent offspring were investigated in the present study. Exposure to familial models of alcohol abuse and biological family history were both predictive of positive alcohol effect expectancies of adolescent offspring. Degree of exposure to an alcohol-abusing family member mediated the relationship between biological family history of alcoholism and adolescent alcohol outcome expectancies. These results support prior findings of expectancy differences between youths with and without a family background of alcoholism and provide evidence supporting the significance of family modeling influences in the development of adolescents' alcohol expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of expectancy timing and outcome consistency in expectancy-guided retrieval.

Two studies investigated how expectancy-timing and expectancy-outcome consistency affect expectancy-guided retrieval. Ss were given a student's grade report for later recall. During the retention interval, Ss' expectancies about the student's future performance (improve vs decline) were manipulated. The expectancy information was presented either at the beginning (T1), halfway through (T2), or at the end of the retention interval (T3). Ss then received outcome information, half consistent and half inconsistent with their expectancy. In both studies, T2 and T3 Ss showed evidence of expectancy-guided retrieval, recalling consistent information accurately but displaying expectancy-congruent distortion of inconsistent information. T1 Ss showed no evidence of expectancy-guided retrieval and accurately recalled both inconsistent and consistent information. Further analyses suggested that T1 Ss appeared to reprocess the original information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In search of the seven dwarves: Issues of measurement and meaning in alcohol expectancy research.

Discusses substantive issues in predicting drinking patterns from expectancies, as well as issues of content and measurement of the scales developed to measure these expectancies. In recent years, much research has suggested that alcohol expectancies—or the beliefs that individuals hold about the effects of alcohol on their behavior, moods, and emotions—are an important factor in motivating drinking behavior. Although measures of these expectancies have consistently been shown to be correlated with measures of alcohol use, conceptual and methodological problems remain to be addressed. In order to progress in understanding this potentially important psychosocial factor in abusive and nonabusive drinking, alcohol expectancy research, which has been atheoretical in nature, should attend to potential contributions from other areas of research in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of disconfirmed expectancies in the instigation of attributional processing.

Tested the hypothesis that individuals engage in more thorough attributional processing for unexpected events than they do for expected events. 51 undergraduates observed the experimenter asking a confederate either a small or large favor. The small request led to an expectancy of compliance; the large request led to expectancy of refusal. The confederate then either did or did not comply with the request, thus either confirming or disconfirming Ss' expectancies. Ss were than allowed to look at any 5 of the confederates' responses to a 10-item questionnaire that the confederate had supposedly filled out earlier. Five of the items on the questionnaire were relevant to helping, and 5 were of general interest. As predicted, Ss chose more helping-relevant items when their expectancies had been disconfirmed. Implications for attributions for the behavior of stereotyped out-group members are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Desired image of power, alcohol expectancies and alcohol-related aggression.

Three hundred thirty-nine college students were surveyed regarding their usual drinking behavior, alcohol expectancies, desired identity of power, and experience with alcohol-related violence. Eight percent indicated having been in a fight in a bar, and 16% indicated having been in a fight while drinking in the previous year. Male heavy drinkers were more likely than female heavy drinkers to experience alcohol-related and bar violence. The belief that intoxication causes one to become aggressive was related to experiencing alcohol-related violence. However, the relationship of alcohol expectancies to alcohol-related aggression was moderated by an individual difference in the desire to be seen as powerful. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive models of alcohol expectancy development and maintenance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)