Alcohol expectancies and current mood state in social drinkers

Abstract

Background Whereas the relationship between affective states and drinking behaviour is well established, there is only limited evidence to support the notion that an individual's current mood state is related to his or her alcohol expectancies. Moreover, previous research focused predominantly on the impact of affective valence and, at the same time, failed to assess an individual's evaluation of alcohol effects. Method Three hundred and fifty-seven volunteers completed a German-language version of the Anticipated Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (ABAES), a mood form, and a brief questionnaire on background variables and drinking habits. Furthermore, participants were asked to evaluate each alcohol effect described in the ABAES. Results Those participants feeling tired and worn out anticipated higher levels of alcohol-induced sedation. Positive affect was related to a more negative evaluation of alcohol-induced sedation. The assessment of outcome value revealed remarkable individual differences in the evaluation of alcohol's stimulating effects. Conclusions The present findings suggest that current mood state may determine drinking behaviour by altering both the strength of outcome expectancies and the evaluation of alcohol's effects. Future research may establish the relationship between current mood state and alcohol-related cognitions in clinical samples.