Expectations of alcohol-induced positive affect: A cross-cultural comparison

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the extent to which positive affect i s a cross-culturally expected result of drinking alcohol. This first requir ed development of a quantitative estimate of positive affect on a common sc ale, an essential step neglected in previous comparative research on alcoho l expectancies. Method: Approximately equal numbers of male and female resp ondents (N = 1,008; 521 women) from eight countries were asked to complete a survey inquiring about emotional and behavioral responses they expect peo ple to experience after consuming alcoholic drinks, and about limited aspec ts of their own drinking habits. Multisample latent covariance structure an alysis with means was applied to the data and a cross-culturally invariant model of positive affect was extracted. Results: The latent construct for p ositive affect that emerged was defined by manifest "interpersonal warmth o r closeness," "pleasure of social interactions" and "optimism." There were significant national differences in means for this factor, and self-reporte d drinking frequency was also marginally related to expected positive affec t. Conclusions: Multisample latent covariance structure analysis with means proved a useful tool capable of addressing critical problems in comparativ e cross-cultural research. In addition, there were indications that the exp ectation of increased positive affect associated with drinking may be influ enced by contextual factors and cultural traditions, making positive affect less easily attributable to the direct pharmacological action of alcohol c onsumption than has previously been believed.