Do angry women choose alcohol?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Women's alcohol treatment often incorporates anger management, based on the theory that anger drives drinking.
• While studies show a correlation between anger and alcohol use, laboratory evidence for this causal link is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal effect of a "female-specific" anger provocation on young adult women's alcohol consumption.
• To determine if anger, independent of other negative emotions, influences the choice to drink alcohol.

Main Methods:

• Thirty women (ages 21-30) were randomly assigned to either an anger provocation or a non-provocation group.
• The provocation group experienced an 8-minute interaction with a condescending female confederate.
• Participants then engaged in a taste task involving placebo "beer" and ginger ale.

Main Results:

• Manipulation checks confirmed heightened anger and hostility in the provocation group, without affecting anxiety or depression.
• Participants in the anger provocation condition consumed significantly more placebo "beer" (172.33ml) compared to the non-provocation group (118.60ml), after controlling for baseline negative emotions.
• No differences in ginger ale consumption were observed between the groups.

Conclusions:

• The findings provide laboratory support for a causal relationship between anger and alcohol consumption in young women.
• This suggests that anger may be a specific trigger for alcohol intake in this demographic, validating anger management components in treatment.