A cross-national study of motives for drinking alcohol

The role of individualism-collectivism in influencing the motives for alcohol use was examined by comparing motives for drinking among 72 U.S. (individualist) and 83 Nigerian (collectivist) respondents in 1998. The study also examined the role of gender. The Drinking Motives Questionnaire (Cooper, M.L.; Russell. M.; Skinner. J.B.; Windle, M. Development and Validation of a Three-Dimensional Measure of Drinking Motives. Psychol. Assess. 1992, 4, 123-132.) that classifies drinking motives into coping. enhancement, and social motives was used. The U.S. respondents were hypothesized to score higher on coping motives and lower on social motives than Nigerian participants. This hypothesis was supported. Male respondents also scored higher than females on all the three motives. These results have implications for intervention approaches regarding alcohol use for people with differing cultural orientations.