Drinking restraint versus alcohol expectancies: which is the better indicator of alcohol problems?

The relationship between expectancies and other psychological constructs related to drinking is unclear. The current study assesses the power of drinking restraint, measured by the Temptation and Restraint Inventory (TRI), along with alcohol expectancy and drinking refusal self-efficacy, measured by the Drinking Expectancy Profile (DEP), as indicators of alcohol use and problem drinking.

Volunteer students (N = 359), consisting of 113 men with a mean (+/-SD) age of 25.31 +/- 10.61 years and 246 women with a mean age of 23.04 +/- 8.90, completed the TRI, DEP and Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) as well as frequency and quantity measures of self-reported drinking.

Drinking Restraint was a stronger indicator of higher scores on the ADS, accounting for 54% and 45% of the variance for men and women, respectively, with Alcohol Expectancies and Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy being the better indicator of frequency of alcohol consumption, accounting for 20% of the variance for men and 26% for women. Both measures were represented by similar variances within the quantity of drinking measure.

Drinking restraint and alcohol expectancies were seen to measure kindred but unique cognitive subsets, providing further insight into the progression of alcohol problems. Alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy may be acquired early in the development of drinking behavior, as evidenced by stronger associations with risky drinking; drinking restraint and its associated loss of control factors appear to be more specifically related to problem drinking. Alcohol expectancy and drinking refusal self-efficacy may thus have broader use in the assessment of drinking behavior.