The Effects of Stress, Alcohol Outcome Expectancies, Gender, Coping Styles, and
Family Alcoholism on Alcohol Consumption
Research Proposal by Josh Robbins 100-928-594 November 26, 1996 Economics 143
Abstract
One large component of American popular culture today is alcohol. A common stereotype for the effects of alcohol is that as a drug it acts as a stress antagonist. This theory was introduced by Conger (1956) as the Tension
Reduction Hypothesis (TRW). It states that alcohol's sedative action on the central nervous system serves to reduce tension, and because tension reduction is reinforcing, people drink to escape it (Marlatt & Rehsenow, 1980). Why do we drink, when do we drink, and how
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The answers are based on a five point scale with 1 = disagree and 5 = agree.
3. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) The PSS (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) is a 14 item self-report designed to assess the degress to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful. There are 7 positive and 7 negative questions.
4. COPE The COPE (Carver et al., 1989) has 53 questions and is designed to assess individual coping dispositions. This test is quite complicated, as it is made up of 14 scales which are categorized into 3 coping styles: Problem-Focused
Coping, Emotion-Focused Coping, and Less than Useful Coping (Denial, Behavioral
Disengagement, and Mental Disengagement). The main result we will be looking at is a section called "Drinking to Cope". This will help us find out whether people drink to cope and if so, in what situations.
Specification
The regression equation for this research will be as follows: WEEKi = b0
+ b1(GENDER)i + b2(STRESS)i + b3(EXPECT)i + b4(FAMILY)i + b5(COPE)i
The expected signs of the coefficients are as follows: b1: This is a dummy variable, with only 2 possible values, 0=female and
1=male;
b2: Positive. Increased stress leads to increased drinking; b3: Both. It will probably be positive with expectancy variables like
Tension Reduction, liquid-Courage
Financial and emotional stress, conflicts in the workplace or in the family, and personality traits are all risk factors that could potentially lead an individual to become an alcoholic. Financial stress, specifically unemployment, can cause negative emotions and potentially negative behavior such as alcohol abuse. In an article by Ioana Popovici and Michael French it states, “From a psychological perspective, the financial challenges associated with unemployment could increase tension, anxiety, and family discord, thus leading to increased alcohol use”(2013). Stress within the family, such as divorce, is also a main factor in the development of alcoholism. According to Begoña José and Hans Van Oers in their article titled “Stressors and Alcohol Consumption”, both getting and being divorced is linked to heavy drinking(2000). If alcoholic behavior occurs in a family it is common for the relationships to be weakened and more stress to be created, which can further push the alcoholic into isolation and worsen their drinking behavior. Not only can outside factors have an influence on the occurrence of alcoholism, but certain personality traits can contribute to an individual’s likelihood of becoming an alcoholic. Personality characteristics can determine how a person will react to stressors. One person may abstain from alcohol while another will resort to heavy drinking while
Alcoholic beverages are the only consumable products in the U.S. that do not have nutrition labels. Consumers are being kept in the dark about serving size, alcoholic content, calories, carbohydrates, fats, protein, cholesterol and other nutrition information. Alcohol, specifically ethyl alcohol or ethanol, is produced by fermenting the starch or sugar in various fruits and grains. Alcoholic beverages produced by fermentation and distillation include beer that is usually about 4 to 6 % alcohol, wine that is usually 7 to 15% alcohol, and hard liquor which is about 45% alcohol.
Alcohol use has spanned history. In fact, there is speculation that alcohol use actually preceded the formation of societies (Doweiko, 2015, p. 30). Thus, alcohol has long been a part of mankind’s life. The function of alcohol has unarguably changed throughout the course of history, as it was first used for nutritional purposes and then later on for religious purposes (Doweiko, 2015, p. 32). Today, alcohol serves a social purpose. In the United States, the prevalence of use is quite high, with just over 50% of the population partaking monthly (Doweiko, 2015, p. 34). This statistic is somewhat alarming considering alcohol use comes with a number of potential adverse consequences. Case in point, even
Also, low doses are known to alter motor coordination and time and space perception, important aspects of car driving (about 50% of all fatal traffic accidents are caused by intoxicated drivers). Some effects are already seen at levels of 0.05%. Pain sensitivity is diminished with moderate doses. In some individuals, alcohol is known to diminish feelings of self-criticism and to inhibit fear and anxiety, effects which are probably related to an alcohol-induced sociability. These effects act, no doubt, as psychological reinforcers for the use of alcoholic beverages.
What is alcohol? Is it just a drink? Is it the reason teenagers party? Does it bring a fulfillment into the body? Or is exactly a drink of a lifetime? From stories, movies, and novels, like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, alcohol portrays its own underlying character in today 's world. Realizing it or not, alcohol fills up the society and individuals are drowning in a seven letter - word - riptide. The understanding of alcoholism changes from day to day, subscribing to the idea that alcohol stays the constant variable in the picture as a whole. The symptoms, effects, developments, and causes may vary from individual to another, but the alcohol itself continues to lead the structure of a chronic alcoholic. While the symptoms of alcoholism may seem to disappear and one may no longer depend or abuse alcohol, an alcoholic will always be an alcoholic.
Alcohol is a drug that is classified as a central nervous system depressant. There are three forms of alcohol, beer, wine and distilled spirits. Alcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States and has more adverse effects that most other drugs combined. There are many aspects to consider when thinking about alcohol as a drug. There are many myths surrounding alcohol, including who uses it, what its effects are on users, social and sexual situations and the amounts people drink. The vast majority of the American population uses alcohol and in many various ways and this also causes different effects. Alcohol is also has a great causation in crimes committed by users, social, medical, and educational problems as a result
While the alcoholic must detox and work through their problems, family counseling is a necessity during treatment. Over time, alcoholism has a strong impact on the family and friends of the alcoholics. From the genetic component of addiction to relationship quality, family members are intensely involved in the addiction.
Social anxiety is often misunderstood as a behavioral choice, and therefore those who suffer from this disease are often portrayed negatively. Research indicates that about 15 million people, equally men and women, begin suffering from social anxiety around age 13 (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the difficulties of socially anxious individuals who suppress their emotions by drinking alcohol in order to adapt to their environment. Social anxiety is the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance (Social Anxiety Institute, 2013).
Distinguish symptoms of alcohol-related substance use disorders and summarize the economic, personal, and societal cost of alcoholism in the United States.
Alcohol abuse is something that has affected countless lives, both mentally and physically. There are numerous disorders linked to this abuse, from Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorders to Alcohol-Induced Psychotic Disorder. These disorders have varying affects on the body and the person’s lives, and can cause serious injury and/or have serious side effects. A US Department of Justice study found that as many as 40% of violent crimes occur under the influence of alcohol. Of the 3.9 million Americans who received treatment for a substance abuse problem in 2005, 2.5 million of them were treated for alcohol use. Drinking alcohol to the point of dependence poses a severe health
In the United States alone, nearly 18 million people have an addiction to alcohol. This drug can be a mild to chronic addiction and sometimes can turn out fatal for some people (Chakraburtty). Almost 100,000 people have died from overusing this drug (Chakraburtty). Alcoholism and alcohol abuse is not only damaging emotionally, physically, and mentally to the person who is doing it, but to the people around them as well.
Children experience chronic stress when they grow up with an alcoholic parent. This can lead to alterations in the structure and function of the brain, the way the body responds to and manages stress, and the expression of the persons genes, including what is passed down to later generations.Sometimes children of alcoholics feel responsible for the problems that their alcoholic parent have. They could also believe they created the problem. Adult children of alcoholics have a hard time recognizing their own needs and are often unable to have appropriate balance in their relationships with others. They are more likely to show patterns of an insecure attachment with friends, coworkers, romantic partners, family members, and even their own children
, eight of which focused on comorbid Alcohol and Depression and four solely on Depression. They found positive results for the effectiveness of psychotherapies, including CBT (either alone or in combination with antidepressant medication). They concluded, however, that the evidence was not yet strong enough, due to the minor numbers of studies they had for their review, the diversity among them and the low methodological qualities of some. The results of these reviews suggest introductory evidence that psychological interventions in particular CBT, may be effective for treating co-occurring disorder.
Alcohol dependence is known to be the most severe form of alcohol abuse. A person becomes so dependent on alcohol consumption that he/she loses sight of all the other important things going on around him/her. Family matters and social responsibilities become secondary worries to his/her primary concern for existence, which is drinking (Stephens, 2007). Nearly fourteen million Americans are somewhat dependent on alcohol. Alcohol dependence is more prominent in men, and young adults ages 18-29 (Stephens, 2007). According to a study done by Saitz “85,000 deaths, along with substantial disability from medical and psychiatric consequences, injuries and “secondhand” effects (ex: motor vehicle crashes) are attributed to the use of alcohol” (Saitz, 2005).
The audience will be asked to indicate weather they have been affected by alcoholism directly or indirectly. They will be asked to name the few effects they have experienced that they never liked about people engrossed in alcoholism and the extended effects that they have seen on the family.