CHANGES IN SUBSTANCE USE DURING TIMES OF STRESS - COLLEGE-STUDENTS THE WEEK BEFORE EXAMS

A situational factor that is commonly thought to influence substance u se is stress. The tension reduction theory posits that alcohol relieve s stress-reactions and that most people drink alcohol in stressful sit uations in order to relieve stress-reactions, We conducted a naturalis tic study in which we surveyed seventy-three college students' alcohol and drug use, behaviors, and emotions during a typical week and the w eek before final exams. As expected our subjects experienced an increa se in aversive emotions during the week before exams. The simple tensi on reduction hypothesis predicts that these subjects' alcohol use shou ld have increased during this time. Our data showed the opposite: subj ects' alcohol use decreased during the week before exams. We hypothesi zed that this was due to the availability of effective alternatives fo r reducing anxiety. Implications for prevention were discussed.