The relationship of positive and negative alcohol expectancies to patternsof consumption of alcohol in social drinkers

Negative alcohol expectancies have recently come to occupy a more important position in the expectancy literature, but recent claims that positive exp ectancies are unimportant in the consumption of alcohol when compared with negative expectancies are based on potentially flawed methodology. This stu dy investigated the relative contribution of positive and negative expectan cies to the consumption of alcohol using an instrument designed to measure both positive and negative expectancies. One hundred ninety-three men and w omen from the general community participated in the study. Findings showed while negative expectancies accounted for the greater proportion of varianc e of frequency of consumption, positive expectancies remained an important predictor of consumption, accounting for the greater proportion of variance of quantity consumed per session. The interesting but sometimes counterint uitive directions of these relationships can be explained in terms of socia l learning principles. The relatively neglected concept of negative expecta ncies is worthy of further use and investigation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.