Tension-Reduction Expectancies and Alcoholic Beverage Preferences Revisited: Associations to Drinking Frequency and Gender

Abstract

The relationships among drinking frequency, gender, beverage preference, and tension-reduction outcome expectancies were examined. Subjects consisted of 503 social-drinking college undergraduates. Results indicated that regardless of preferred beverage type, “high” versus “low” frequency drinkers endorsed significantly greater tension-reduction expectancies. Results also indicated that males and “frequent” drinkers preferred beer as their primary alcoholic beverage. Supplemental analyses suggested that drinking frequency partially confounded the relationship between gender and beverage preference. These results extend and refine previous research and have implications for alcohol misuse prevention and early intervention.

Key Words:

• Tension reduction
• Expectancies
• Beverage preference
• Alcohol
• Drinking habit