Pleasures of drinking: a cross-cultural perspective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how drinking is related to positive expectations of the effects of drinking. Data emanates from Gender, Alcohol and Culture - An International Study (GENACIS), a collaborative project in which surveys from all included countries utilized the same core questionnaire. Three indicators for positive expectations were used, representing a social, relational, and intimate dimension. Cross-country comparisons of positive expectancy reports were conducted, as well as exploratory multiple regression analyses of the relationships between expectations and drinking. Volume and binge drinking were used as two indicators for drinking pattern. The share of current drinkers varied between countries and genders. In all countries, men reported on expectancies more often than women. Regression model results are variable and not directly interpretable into cultural patterns, across countries and continents.