Although alcohol expectancy (expectations about the effects of drinking alc
ohol on one's behavior and mood) and drinking refusal self-efficacy (one's
perceived ability to resist drinking in high-risk situations) have consiste
ntly been demonstrated to be useful to our understanding of alcohol use and
abuse, the specificity of these constructs to alcohol consumption has not
been previously demonstrated. Using 161 first-year psychology students and
multiple regression analyses this study indicated that alcohol expectancies
and drinking refusal self-efficacy were specifically related to quantity o
f alcohol consumption, but not to caffeine or nicotine intake. These result
s provide empirical evidence to confirm the theoretical and practical utili
ty of these two cognitive constructs to alcohol research and serve to stren
gthen the theoretical foundations of alcohol expectancy theory. (C) 2000 El
sevier Science Ltd.