THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REASONS FOR DRINKING ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION - AN INTERACTIONAL APPROACH

Two motives for alcohol consumption have been emphasized in the etiolo gical and the reasons-for-drinking literature: (a) people drink alcoho l to cope with stress, and (b) people drink alcohol because of social influences. There is support for both of these hypotheses, but the res ults are usually modest and most authors agree that more complex theor ies of alcohol consumption are needed. This study examined the interac tional effects of reasons for drinking alcohol and situational factors on alcohol consumption. Standardized telephone interviews were conduc ted with 781 randomly selected Michigan drinkers. Hierarchical multipl e regression analyses indicated that gender, friends' alcohol consumpt ion, coping, and social motives for drinking were significant predicto rs of study participants' alcohol consumption. As predicted, there was a significant interaction between drinking to cope with stress and pe rceived stress, and there was also a significant interaction between d rinking for social reasons and friends' alcohol consumption. Similarit ies and differences in the results for women, men, Blacks, and Whites are described.