Dose-related effects of alcohol among male alcoholics, problem drinkers and nonproblem drinkers

Cognitive variables, such as expectancies regarding the usefulness of alcohol, have been receiving increased attention in recent years because these expected effects can influence decisions to drink and mediate responses to alcohol. In the present study, alcohol expectancies were assessed using the Alcohol Beliefs Scale, a measure that yields dose-related data on expected effects of alcohol. The subjects were male alcoholics, problem drinkers and nonproblem drinkers. The central finding was that drinker group membership and rated dose level interacted in predicting subjects' estimates of the usefulness of alcohol for them. On the "useful for feeling better" factor, the greatest benefit was expected from a moderate dose, particularly among alcoholics. On the "useful for relieving emotional distress" factor, usefulness ratings increased with dose, with alcoholics expecting the greatest rate of increase. A similar pattern was found for the "useful for feeling in charge" factor, except that the ratings for problem drinkers and alcoholics paralleled each other. These findings have implications for our efforts to understand drinkers' motivations to initiate and continue drinking.