HASSLES AND UPLIFTS AND GENERALIZED OUTCOME EXPECTANCIES AS MODERATORS ON THE RELATION BETWEEN A FAMILY HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM AND DRINKING BEHAVIORS

The present study examined 85 adult offspring of alcoholics (FH+) and 68 comparison subjects without a family history of alcoholism (FH-) in order to address three questions: (1) Does the relation between hassl es and uplifts and drinking differ by gender and/or family history of alcoholism? (2) Do hassles and uplifts and/or generalized outcome expe ctancies (dispositional optimism and pessimism) moderate the relation between having a family history of alcoholism and drinking behaviors? (3) Do hassles and uplifts and outcome expectancies interact to influe nce drinking behaviors? The pattern of relations between hassles and u plifts and drinking behaviors and between outcome expectancies and dri nking behaviors differed by family history and gender. Hassles were re lated to increased alcohol consumption for Mf men only, whereas outcom e expectancies were related to indicators of problem drinking for FHwomen only. When the moderating influences of hassles and uplifts and outcome expectancies were examined, both hassles and pessimism were fo und to moderate the relation between family history and drinking behav iors. In addition, hassles and uplifts and outcome expectancies intera ctively influenced this relation. These results emphasize the need to examine further both individual and contextual processes in studies ex amining the risk of the development of alcoholism.