Relationships among measures of alcohol drinking behavior, life-events and perceived stress.

Two measures of stress (life-events and perceived stress) and a measure of alcohol-drinking behavior were administered to 6,747 adult males. Analysis was carried out to examine the extent to which subjects classified into drinking-behavior groups differed on stress measures while controlling for age, income, and race. Significant differences held up under age, race, and income controls for life-events and perceived stress between the abstinence, common-use, and problem-drinking groups. Stress scores increased sequentially across the drinking-behavior groups. Apparently, men who are life-long abstainers (teetotallers) experience fewer life-events and perceive less stress than moderate drinkers, while moderate drinkers experience less stress than heavy drinkers.