The etiology of alcoholism involves both familial and nonfamilial factors. Identification of nonfamilial determinants of alcoholism, which are amenable to modification, can lead to the development of effective interventions and appropriate preventive measures can be taken. If anxiety reduction following alcohol is one such factor, then clinically anxious patients, for whom anxiety is a way of life, may be a high risk for alcohol abuse. The acute effects of ethanol in such a population will be assessed in the present study. Specifically, the anxiolytic effects of alcohol will be assessed in women with generalized anxiety disorder by measuring the effects of two doses of ethanol on the psychological and somatic symptoms of anxiety. A 3 x 2 factorial design will be used (dose x phase of menstrual cycle) with repeated measures on one factor (phase of menstrual cycle). Subjective ratings, electroencephalographic activity, electrodermal activity, cardiovascular activity, including heart interbeat interval, blood pressure, and finger temperature, frontalis and gastrocnemius electromyographic activity, respiration, and cognitive/psychomotor performance will be measured in three groups of patients, one receiving placebo, one receiving 0.5 g/kg and one receiving 1.0 g/kg ethanol. Subjective and psychophysiological responses to two types of stressors, one requiring concentrated attention (Concentration Task) and the other requiring little cognitive effort (Risk-Taking Task), will be assessed during two phases of the menstrual cycle: the premenstrual and follicular phases. Results of the study will provide a comprehensive profile of the subjective and psychophysiological effects of ethanol in a clinically anxious population during two phases of the menstrual cycle. A reduction in anxiety by alcohol would permit the identification of a population at risk for alcohol abuse and would provide information as to whether this population is more vulnerable to alcohol abuse during the premenstrual than during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.
