Mood Induction Changes Negative Alcohol Expectancies Among Japanese Adults with Problematic Drinking: Negative Mood Regulation Expectancies Moderate the Effect

Abstract

One’s beliefs about effects of alcohol, known as alcohol expectancies, are important constructs for understanding drinking behavior, but the literature on the influences of mood on alcohol-related negative beliefs and on memory accessibility is limited. The current study examined effects of a mood induction on alcohol expectancies and alcohol-related autobiographical memories; also, whether negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE), which are beliefs about one’s ability to control negative affect, moderated these effects. Recruited from the community, 485 Japanese problem drinkers first completed measures of NMRE and alcohol expectancies. A week later, participants completed an online experiment: they received a musical mood induction (238 participants were randomly allocated to a positive mood induction group and 239 participants to a negative mood induction group). Then, participants completed measures of alcohol expectancies and alcohol-related autobiographical memories. Results showed the mood induction significantly weakly affected two negative alcohol expectancies (physical ailments and dysphoria). NMRE moderated the effect of mood induction on negative alcohol expectancies for dysphoria. Findings suggest the importance of mood as an influence on negative beliefs about the effects of drinking among Japanese problem drinkers. Additionally, NMRE alter the impact of mood on more specific expectancies. Limitations about the online method of this experiment are discussed.