Alcohol expectancies of Irish and Canadian alcoholics

Recent approaches in alcohol research have dealt with the positive and negative expectations of drinkers regarding alcohol consumption. In this study 61 White male alcoholics from a residential treatment program in Ireland were compared with 53 White male alcoholics from a similar program in Canada on their rank ordering of 13 positive and 12 negative expected consequences from drinking. The Irish seemed to drink for social reasons, striving for tranquilization, detachment, and self-absorption. Their greatest concern was that tranquilization would fail, and they also feared the physical consequences of drinking. Canadians drank for social/sexual enhancement and worried most about trouble with authorities over aggression and getting into debt.