The Relationship of Social Context and Expectancy Factors to Alcohol Use Intensity Among 18 to 22 Year-Olds

Abstract

Two instruments measuring conceptually distinct models of alcohol use were administered to a sample of 18 to 22 year-old college drinkers. One instrument assessed social contexts of drinking, defined as a combination of intra personal motivations and immediate environmental variables which influence alcohol use. A second instrument assessed alcohol expectancies, which are the anticipated outcomes or reinforcements obtained from drinking. The results indicated that the social context set accounted for 70 per cent of the variance in a measure of alcohol use intensity, compared to 48 per cent which was accounted for by the expectancy set. Social Facilitation was the single most important context factor related to alcohol intensity. The implications of these findings and future directions for social context research are discussed.

Key Words:

• social context
• alcohol expectancies
• alcohol use intensity
• college student drinking
• drinking motivations