Despite documented gender differences in alcohol use and consequences among college students, the impact of gender on some of the most salient correlates of college drinking has been understudied. Specifically, both theory and empirical data offer support for an etiological conceptualization of college drinking that includes both affective and cognitive factors, and the literature suggests that these factors may affect drinking differentially by gender. Yet, the nature of relations among these critical variables and the ways that they may influence alcohol consumption remain unclear. Extant studies have yielded dissonant findings, perhaps in part due to the heavy reliance on self-report data and correlational designs to assess these associations. Controlled laboratory studies in this area clearly are needed. The objective of this new investigator R21 is to develop and conduct necessary laboratory studies to explicate these associations and to delineate affective and cognitive processes underlying college drinking. The proposed research program consists of a series of three studies. In the first study, multidimensional scaling (MDS) will be used to model alcohol expectancies across genders and at differing imagined doses of alcohol. In the second study, the effects of experimentally induced mood on the accessibility of alcohol expectancies will be examined in a 2(gender) X 3 (mood) factorial design. In the third study, undergraduates will be randomly assigned to a mood condition. Mood related changes in drinking will be examined in a 2 (gender) X 3 (mood) factorial design. Moderational effects of expectancies and mediational effects of expectancy accessibility on the affect-drinking association will be examined. In accordance with the goals of the Healthy People 2000 Initiative, this research program represents a critical first step toward decreasing heavy drinking among youths. Together, the proposed studies will yield fundamental knowledge about the unique and aggregate associations among gender, affect, expectancies, and alcohol consumption. The program is innovative in its systematic experimental examination of these associations. Findings from these studies have direct and important implications for preventive interventions, as they may facilitate the development of targeted, gender-appropriate interventions to reduce heavy alcohol use and its consequences among college students.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21AA014052-02
Application #
6790715
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAA1-FF (16))
Program Officer
Freeman, Robert
Project Start
2003-08-15
Project End
2006-07-31
Budget Start
2004-08-01
Budget End
2005-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$157,000
Indirect Cost
Name
State University of New York at Buffalo
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
038633251
City
Buffalo
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14260
Wardell, Jeffrey D; Read, Jennifer P; Curtin, John J et al. (2012) Mood and implicit alcohol expectancy processes: predicting alcohol consumption in the laboratory. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 36:119-29
Merrill, Jennifer E; Read, Jennifer P (2010) Motivational pathways to unique types of alcohol consequences. Psychol Addict Behav 24:705-11
Read, Jennifer P; Lau-Barraco, Cathy; Dunn, Michael E et al. (2009) Projected alcohol dose influences on the activation of alcohol expectancies in college drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 33:1265-77
Merrill, Jennifer E; Wardell, Jeffrey D; Read, Jennifer P (2009) Is expectancy reality? Associations between tension reduction beliefs and mood following alcohol consumption. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 17:434-44
Read, Jennifer P; Kahler, Christopher W; Strong, David R et al. (2006) Development and preliminary validation of the young adult alcohol consequences questionnaire. J Stud Alcohol 67:169-77
Kahler, Christopher W; Strong, David R; Read, Jennifer P (2005) Toward efficient and comprehensive measurement of the alcohol problems continuum in college students: the brief young adult alcohol consequences questionnaire. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 29:1180-9