An experimental test of affect, subjective craving, and alcohol outcome expectancies as motivators of young adult drinking.

Research on motivations for alcohol use suggests that both positive and negative affect, craving, and outcome expectancies are good predictors of alcohol consumption. The present study tested the utility of these variables in predicting laboratory measures of alcohol consumption among young social drinkers. Two conditioning models of alcohol procurement guided analyses: the conditioned withdrawal model (represented by negative affect and craving) and the appetitive-motivational model (represented by positive outcome expectancies and subjective evaluations). Results showed that negative affect and craving did not significantly influence either subjects' latencies to begin drinking or speed of consuming one placebo beverage. Positive outcome expectancies and evaluations, however, had a marked impact on speed of drinking. Thus, the appetitive-motivational model appears to better characterize the drinking patterns of young social drinkers than does the conditioned withdrawal model.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes