Daily interpersonal experiences, context, and alcohol consumption: Crying in your beer and toasting good times

The authors explored a multidimensional view of drinking, whereby social an d solitary drinking represent distinct behaviors associated with positive a nd negative experiences, respectively. Using daily diary methodology and mu ltilevel analytic strategy, the authors examined, over 30 days, the within- person association of negative and positive experiences and alcohol consump tion in different contexts and focused on interpersonal experiences. On day s with more negative inter-personal experiences, participants engaged in mo re solitary drinking (i.e., drinking at home and alone), whereas on days wi th more positive interpersonal experiences they drank more in social contex ts. The authors also demonstrated that individuals high on neuroticism dran k more in solitary contexts on days with more negative interpersonal experi ences, relative to those with lower neuroticism. These findings lend suppor t to models linking daily drinking motivation and context-dependent drinkin g behavior.