The Influence of Observed Alcohol Consumption on Perceptions of Initiation of Sexual Activity in a College Dating Situation

Corcoran and Bell (1990) found differences between men and women's expectancies for the likelihood of sexual intercourse on a first date depending on how much the other had to drink. The present study examined the subjects' perceptions of likelihood of male and female initiation of sexual intercourse in a story in which the drinking of male or female characters was varied. Subjects read a story of a first date in which one character. either the male or female, consumed a couple of cocktails. The other character either "also had a couple of cocktails.""drank soft drinks," or "became slightly intoxicated." A manipulation check showed that the subjects were responding to story variables in their ratings of characters intoxication. Men were perceived to be more likely than women to initiate intercourse across all drinking conditions, although results indicate that all subjects believed that sexual activity was more likely to be initiated when story characters consumed alcohol rather than soft drinks. These results further demonstrated that this expectancy for initiation of sex appears to be triggered by the presence of alcohol and did not significantly increase for a higher dose of alcohol. More research is necessary to clarify the role of alcohol in sexuality among adolescents and young adults.     

青少年饮酒期望与饮酒行为的关系:追踪研究的证据

通过对1000余名青少年为期一年的追踪调查,探讨了青少年饮酒期望与饮酒行为之间的关系,同时考察了饮酒期望的发展和性别差异。研究结果表明:(1)一年来青少年的饮酒行为、饮酒消极期望和饮酒积极期望都显著增加;女生的饮酒行为和饮酒积极期望的增加都显著高于男生。(2)第二次测查时,青少年的饮酒行为、饮酒积极期望和饮酒消极期望高于一年前原同年级的学生。(3)饮酒积极期望、消极期望和饮酒行为之间的基本关系一年来没有发生变化:消极期望可能降低饮酒行为,积极期望可能增加饮酒行为,消极期望对积极期望与饮酒行为的关系具有显著的调节作用。但是消极期望对饮酒行为的作用降低,积极期望的作用升高。     

'That's OK. He's a guy': a mixed-methods study of gender double-standards for alcohol use

Although drinking and drunkenness have traditionally been considered masculine behaviours, young women's alcohol consumption has increased in recent years. This mixed methods study was conducted to examine the extent to which young people endorse gender double-standards for alcohol use--i.e., less acceptance of drinking and drunkenness in women than men--and how these influence men's and women's alcohol consumption. A sample of 731 English university students completed an online survey of gender role attitudes, beliefs about the gendered nature of alcohol use and recent alcohol consumption. Sixteen participants were then purposively selected for individual interviews: eight women and men with the most egalitarian gender role beliefs, and eight women and men with the least egalitarian beliefs. The two sets of data revealed that although there were few sex differences in actual levels of drinking or drunkenness, gender double-standards for alcohol use persist: beer drinking, binge drinking and public drunkenness tended to be perceived as masculine, and even the most egalitarian respondents were more judgemental of women's drinking. Participants modified their drinking style so as to maintain a desired gender identity. Although gender double-standards could be a focus of interventions to encourage moderate drinking, such approaches could reinforce gender inequalities.     

Factors related to cigarette smoking and alcohol use among adolescents

Based on a national survey of Icelandic adolescents, this study examined the various predictors of cigarette smoking and alcohol use. It was found that the use of tobacco and alcohol was related to a number of different factors: sex, residence, hours of paid work, physical activities, social network, educational performance and beliefs, and psychological distress. Further, smoking and drinking had most predictors in common. It was concluded that existing theoretical perspectives on juvenile deviance do not provide an adequate account of adolescent smoking and drinking. The need to integrate existing theories into a wider explanatory framework is discussed.     

Predicting 13-year-olds' drinking using parents' self-reported alcohol use and restrictiveness compared with offspring's perception

This study examined whether offspring's perception of parental frequency of alcohol use and restrictiveness towards offspring's alcohol use could be used as a substitute for parental self-reports. Offspring's perception were compared with parents' self-reported alcohol use and restrictiveness in ability to predict offspring's own alcohol use. Respondents were 924 offspring, 642 fathers and 729 mothers. Correlations between fathers' and mothers' self-reported frequency of drinking alcohol and offspring's reports of parental frequency of drinking alcohol ranged from 0.55 to 0.70. Fathers' and mothers' self-reported alccohl use and restrictiveness explained less than two per cent of the variance in their offspring's alcohol use in regression analyses, while offspring's perception of parental drinking frequency and restrictiveness exaplained about eight per cent of the variance in offspring's alcohol use. These results represent a challenge to studies of young adolescents which interpret offspring's reports of parents' alcohol use as a surrogate measure 'of parents' self-reported alcohol use.     

Links between sex-related expectations about alcohol, heavy episodic drinking and sexual risk among young men in a shantytown in Lima, Peru

CONTEXT: Alcohol use is frequently identified as a contributor to risky sexual behaviors; however, research results are mixed. Given the conflicting evidence, researchers have focused on other factors, such as expectations about alcohol's effects that might help explain the relationship of alcohol use and risky sexual behaviors. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from 312 sexually experienced males aged 18-30 in a shantytown in Lima, Peru, were used in logistic regression models to identify associations of heavy episodic drinking and sex-related expectations about alcohol with sexual risk behaviors. RESULTS: Heavy episodic drinking was associated with having had two or more sexual partners and having had sex with a casual partner in the past year (odds ratios, 2.8 and 2.5, respectively). After controlling for alcohol consumption, sex-related expectations about alcohol were associated with these high-risk sexual behaviors, as well as with not using a condom at last sex (1.2) and not using a condom at last sex with a casual partner (1.3). CONCLUSION: Beliefs about the effect of alcohol on sexual performance could help explain links between alcohol consumption and risky sexual behavior not completely accounted for by the pharmacological effects of alcohol.     

Mediators in the Relationship Between Parental and Peer Characteristics and Beer Drinking by Early Adolescents1

Social learning theory suggests that parents and peers influence adolescent drinking directly by providing social reinforcement and models for imitation, and indirectly by first influencing various expectations adolescents form about drinking. In this study, longitudinal data were used to investigate several mediators that could account for the relationships between adolescent beer drinking and parent and peer drinking behaviors and attitudes. The results show that peer drinking indirectly influences adolescent drinking by shaping adolescents' norms on drinking, drinking preferences, and expected consequences of drinking related to friends and problem behavior, whereas parental alcohol use and peer attitude toward alcohol largely directly influence adolescent beer drinking. The results suggest that influence is in large part direct or indirect depending on the source of the influence. In addition, different types of mediators may account for different relationships.     

Relations of parental status with alcohol use patterns and attitudes about underage drinking

In a sample of 143 adults from a population of households in Idaho, significant differences in patterns of alcohol use and attitudes about underage drinking were related to parental status. Nonparents reported drinking alcohol more frequently than parents. Parents were significantly more likely than nonparents to report that it is never acceptable for minors to drink alcohol, that minors should not be allowed to drink alcohol at parties with no parents present, and that "sting" operations by police are warranted. Surprisingly, nonparents were significantly more likely than parents to report stores and bars are not careful enough about selling alcohol to minors.     

School Contextual Influences on the Risk for Adolescent Alcohol Misuse

This study investigates the association between school context and adolescent alcohol misuse. Data are from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 10,574 adolescents nested within 128 schools). Multilevel multinomial logistic regression is used to assess the association between school-level characteristics and the risk for non-, moderate, and heavy drinking. The risk for adolescent alcohol misuse varies significantly across schools after adjusting for adolescent-level predictors. Several school-level characteristics predict alcohol misuse. Notably, the risk for heavy drinking is elevated in schools located in communities that are socioeconomically advantaged, have high proportions of Non-Hispanic White residents, and are located in suburban (versus urban) areas. High aggregate levels of intoxication in schools increases the risk for heavy drinking among individual adolescents. Results suggest that the influence of social contexts on health is not uniform and that adolescent drinking is more likely in communities that are conceptualized as advantaged.     

Cognitive aspects of binge drinking

This paper aims to explore causes of binge drinking in young people and the effects that they seek when they drink alcohol, based on age and alcohol intake. 4,083 questionnaires were administered to 1,361 university students and 2,722 adolescents at their educational institutions. The findings corresponding to those who reported practising binge drinking -2,917 subjects- are presented in the paper. Taking into account the regularity of the practice and the alcohol intake, cluster analysis differentiated two consumer types in each group: the radical type (21.2% university students-18.2% adolescents): 10-11 drinks 3 days a week and for more than 10 months a year; and the average type (78.7% university students-81.7% adolescents): 4-5 drinks twice a week and for 8-9 months. Drinking as a way of having fun (75.2%) and drinking for the sake of drinking (81.9%) are two of the main causes underlying binge drinking, economical reasons being secondary for adolescents As for the expected effects, the short-term positive aspects of moderate consumption (being more talkative, euphoric...) stand out. Adolescents also expect to improve some of their personal skills (more self-confidence...). These results corroborate and increase the information currently available and allow us to propose alternatives adapted to young people's real needs.     

Hangover frequency and risk for alcohol use disorders: evidence from a longitudinal high-risk study

Data from a prospective high-risk study (N=489; 51% with a family history of alcoholism) were used to test whether family history is associated with greater hangover proneness and whether hangover is a risk factor for alcohol use disorders. Hangover was more frequent in family-history-positive participants during the college years. Persons with an alcohol diagnosis showed excess hangover before earning a diagnosis. Year 1 hangover predicted alcohol use disorders at Years 7 and 11, even when family history, sex, Year 1 diagnoses, and Year 1 drinking were statistically controlled. Several nonhangover drinking symptoms failed to predict later diagnoses. Taken together, the findings suggest a need for further research and theory on the role of hangover in the etiology of drinking problems.     

‘That's OK. He's a guy’: A mixed-methods study of gender double-standards for alcohol use

Although drinking and drunkenness have traditionally been considered masculine behaviours, young women's alcohol consumption has increased in recent years. This mixed methods study was conducted to examine the extent to which young people endorse gender double-standards for alcohol use – i.e., less acceptance of drinking and drunkenness in women than men – and how these influence men's and women's alcohol consumption. A sample of 731 English university students completed an online survey of gender role attitudes, beliefs about the gendered nature of alcohol use and recent alcohol consumption. Sixteen participants were then purposively selected for individual interviews: eight women and men with the most egalitarian gender role beliefs, and eight women and men with the least egalitarian beliefs. The two sets of data revealed that although there were few sex differences in actual levels of drinking or drunkenness, gender double-standards for alcohol use persist: beer drinking, binge drinking and public drunkenness tended to be perceived as masculine, and even the most egalitarian respondents were more judgemental of women's drinking. Participants modified their drinking style so as to maintain a desired gender identity. Although gender double-standards could be a focus of interventions to encourage moderate drinking, such approaches could reinforce gender inequalities.     

L’impact du burnout scolaire sur les comportements d’alcoolisation des adolescents

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the impact of school-related burnout symptoms. on alcohol consumption habits among adolescents. Alcohol consumption is rather common among adolescents. Indeed, recent French research (Spilka et al., 2015) has shown that in a sample of 17-year-old adolescents up to 89.3% declared at least one alcohol consumption experience over lifetime, 58.9% experienced drunkenness over the last year, and 48.8% declared binge drinking experiences over last month. In the meantime, high-school students are exposed to a high level of school-related stress, which could lead to school-related burnout (Salmela-Aro et al., 2009). Previous studies have shown that school-related burnout is associated with several addictive behaviors, such as tobacco use (Moncla, Walburg, Milhaes, 2014) cannabis consumption (Walburg, Moncla, Milhaes, 2015) or problematic Facebook use (Walburg, Milhaes, Moncla, 2016). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore weather school-related burnout could influence alcohol use behaviors among high-school students.

Adolescents'' alcohol use related to perceived norms

A questionnaire survey was carried out among 898 Norwegian adolescents age twelve to twenty. The study focused on the relation between adolescents' alcohol use on one side and estimated drinking norms (peers' drinking) together with attributed opinion norms (parents' and friends' acceptance of adolescents' alcohol use) on the other. On average, 5% of students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade reported weekly alcohol use. They overestimated the number of fellow students using alcohol every week seven-fold. Students' estimates were significantly related to self-reported alcohol use. Even in high-school (10th, 11th and 12th grade) where 29% reported weekly alcohol use, students overestimated number of weekly drinkers among friends and fellow students by two-fold. Contrary to the results from a previous study conducted in Norway, in this study opinions attributed to both friends and parents about adolescents' alcohol use were significantly related to the students' own alcohol use. Estimated behavior norms and attributed opinion norms explained 46% of the observed variance in students' self-reported frequency of drinking. In a health promotion context, these results point to the importance of correcting student misconceptions about how often friends and fellow students drink alcohol.     

The Indirect Effects of Social Network Characteristics and Normative Beliefs in the Association between Adolescent Depressive Symptomatology and Binge Drinking

Adolescents who experience depression have different attributional styles and may overestimate how much alcohol their friends consume. This misperception may increase binge drinking among adolescents with depressive symptomatology. The social networks of adolescents with depressive symptomatology are systematically different, providing different social learning opportunities. Using Add Health, we find that individuals who suffer from depressive symptomatology are more likely to have peers with higher depression scores. Adolescents with higher depressive symptomatology are more likely to perceive their peers as drinking alcohol. Our results suggest that normative beliefs are the key mediator in explaining the association between depressive symptomatology and binge drinking.     

Predictors of moderated drinking in a primarily alcohol-dependent sample of men who have sex with men

Understanding for whom moderated drinking is a viable, achievable, and sustainable goal among those with a range of alcohol use disorders (AUD) remains an important public health question. Despite common acceptance as severe risk factors, there is little empirical evidence to conclude whether co-occurring mental health disorders or drug dependence contribute to an individual's inability to successfully moderate his drinking. Utilizing secondary data analysis, the purpose of this study was to identify predictors of moderation among both treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking, primarily alcohol-dependent, problem-drinking men who have sex with men (MSM), with an emphasis on the high risk factors psychiatric comorbidity and drug dependence. Problem drinkers (N = 187) were assessed, provided feedback about their drinking, given the option to receive brief AUD treatment or change their drinking on their own, and then followed for 15 months. Findings revealed that neither psychiatric comorbidity or drug dependence predicted ability to achieve moderation when controlling for alcohol dependence severity. Those who were younger, more highly educated, and had more mild alcohol dependence were more likely to achieve moderated drinking. Impact of treatment on predictors is explored. Limitations of this study and arenas for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Children's alcohol cognitions prior to drinking onset: discrepant patterns from implicit and explicit measures

Prior to drinking onset, children report stronger negative versus positive beliefs on self-report alcohol expectancy questionnaires, with some attenuation of this negativity as they transition into adolescence. Traditional alcohol expectancy assessments, however, capture endorsement of deliberative propositions about drinking outcomes. Measurement of implicit alcohol associations may elucidate automatic evaluations, clarifying the role of nondeliberative cognition in the initiation of alcohol use among youth. Few studies have assessed implicit alcohol cognition among children and younger adolescents, with inconsistent findings regarding the nature of these automatic associations within and between age groups. Eighty-nine 3rd and 4th graders and 91 7th and 8th graders completed an alcohol expectancy measure and two unipolar alcohol Implicit Association Tests (IAT) measuring positive and negative alcohol associations independently. On the explicit measure older compared with younger participants rated positive drinking outcomes as more likely and negative outcomes as less likely. Older compared with younger students were also more neutral/moderate in their evaluations of positive drinking outcomes. On the IATs, scores for the full sample indicated negative alcohol associations, and Negative IAT scores were higher for older compared with younger participants. However, the valence of implicit alcohol associations was qualified by the order of explicit versus implicit assessment; for those who completed the IATs prior to the explicit expectancy measure, alcohol associations were positive. Findings replicate and extend prior research conducted with preonset youth. Implications regarding the role of automatic and controlled processes in drinking onset and directions for future work on children's alcohol cognition are discussed.     

Benevolent Sexism, Perceived Health Risks, and the Inclination to Restrict Pregnant Women��s Freedoms

The present study investigated the role of sexist ideology in perceptions of health risks during pregnancy and willingness to intervene on pregnant women??s behavior. Initially, 160 female psychology undergraduates in the South East of England completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick and Fiske 1996). Two months later, in an apparently unrelated study, they rated the safety of 45 behaviours during pregnancy (e.g., drinking alcohol, exercising, drinking tap water, and oral sex), and indicated their willingness to restrict pregnant women??s choices (e.g., by refusing to serve soft cheese or alcohol). As predicted, benevolent (but not hostile) sexism was related to willingness to restrict pregnant women??s choices. This effect was partially mediated by the perception that various behaviors are unsafe during pregnancy.     

Adolescent Sex Differences in Response to a Mindfulness Intervention: A Call for Research

Research on mindfulness interventions with adolescents has burgeoned over the last ten years, and findings have demonstrated increases in overall emotional wellbeing post-intervention. However, little is known about the sex differences in response to mindfulness interventions in this age group. In the present study we examine sex differences in outcomes of physiological stress markers during the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and emotional wellbeing measures before and after a mindfulness intervention (N?=?15) with 10 female and 5 male adolescents. Additionally, we examine sex differences in course engagement and post-intervention use of mindfulness skills during the TSST. Overall, we found some evidence that females were more engaged than males in the class and also reported less stress post-intervention. We conclude by strongly encouraging future research in this area to more clearly elucidate the different ways in which adolescent males and females engage and respond to mindfulness interventions.