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The relationships between attitudes toward alcohol and actual drinking behavior were examined. Attitudes toward specific drinking behaviors correlated better with those behaviors than did more global attitudes. Heavy drinkers believed that drinking heavily resulted in positive experiences.
OBJECTIVE: This article provides a review of conceptual and empirical studies on the role of social norms in college student alcohol use and in prevention strategies to counter misuse. The normative influences of various constituencies serving as reference groups for students are examined as possible factors influencing students' drinking behavior. METHOD: A review of English language studies was conducted. RESULTS: Parental norms have only modest impact on students once they enter college beyond the residual effects of previously instilled drinking attitudes and religious traditions. Faculty could theoretically provide a positive influence on student drinking behavior, but there is little evidence in the literature that faculty norms and expectations about avoiding alcohol misuse are effectively communicated to students. Although the norms of resident advisers (RAs) should ideally provide a restraint on student alcohol misuse, the positive influence of RAs is limited by their negotiated compromises with students whom they oversee and by their misperceptions of student norms. Research reveals student peer norms to be the strongest influence on students' personal drinking behavior, with the more socially integrated students typically drinking most heavily. The widespread prevalence among students of dramatic misperceptions of peer norms regarding drinking attitudes and behaviors is also a consistent finding. Permissiveness and problem behaviors among peers are overestimated, even in environments where problem drinking rates are relatively high in actuality. These misperceived norms, in turn, have a significant negative effect promoting and exacerbating problem drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to reduce these misperceptions have revealed a substantial positive effect in several pilot studies and campus experiments.
In this paper are summarized the implications of recent population studies in which drinking behavior is used to predict development of heart disease. A key inference is that the association of drinking behavior with mortality may be attributed as much to characteristic lifestyles as to the drinking itself. Increased emphasis on validation studies is needed to improve measurement of drinking behavior for greater precision in predicting mortality. A plan is presented for large-scale longitudinal studies to predict heart disease and other major health problems, calling for the joint efforts of agencies such as the National Center for Health Statistics and the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial.
The relationship between gender-stereotypical traits and drinking behaviors was examined in 422 university students via both positive and negative measures of masculinity and femininity. Two canonical variates summarized the underlying relationships. The 1st canonical variate indicated that both high negative masculinity and low positive femininity predicted alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. This behavior was labeled confirmatory drinking because it depicts a style of drinking that reinforces gender-stereotypical images about alcohol use; masculine characteristics are typically associated with high levels of alcohol consumption. The 2nd canonical variate indicated that both low positive masculinity and low positive femininity predicted problem drinking. This behavior was labeled compensatory drinking because drinkers often use alcohol to express their masculinity and femininity. The distinction between confirmatory and compensatory drinking has important implications for the development of more effective education and preventative strategies.
Effects of tertiary anticholinergic drugs, atropine (1.3, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg, s.c.) and scopolamine (0.13, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg, s.c.), and a quaternary anticholinergic drug, methylatropine (1.3, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg, s.c.), on the drinking behavior were investigated in water non-deprived rats that were housed in a 12-hr light-dark situation (light period: 6:00-18:00) with a free access to food. Atropine, 5 mg/kg, and scopolamine, 0.13 and 0.25 mg/kg, administered at 12:00, significantly increased the drinking during the 12:00-18:00 period. Furthermore, lower to medium doses of atropine increased the drinking during the 18:00-6:00 period. In contrast, the drinking did not change during the 12:00-18:00 period, but decreased during the 18:00-6:00 period in a dose-dependent manner after administration of methylatropine at 12:00, whereas the drinking during the 18:00-24:00 period decreased in a dose-dependent manner when both the tertiary and quaternary drugs were administered at 18:00. However, the drinking during the 24:00-6:00 period increased in the rats that were administered atropine at the dose of 5 or 10 mg/kg at 18:00, while the drinking still decreased after methylatropine at the same time. The present results suggest that in water non-deprived rats, central muscarinic cholinergic blockade is effective for both increasing and decreasing drinking behavior, depending on the doses, when the drug is administered, and time span between the drug administration and the behavior observation. It is also suggested that peripheral cholinergic blockade monotonously suppresses the drinking behavior.
PACAP38 bilaterally injected in the vicinity of the perifornical lateral hypothalamus (pfLH) induced drinking behavior in rats. The animals (n = 12) drank 19.7 +/- 4.1 ml of water during the hour following PACAP38 microinjections (1 nmol/0.5 microliter). In the same rat sulpiride microinjections (45 nmol/0.5 microliter) had relatively mild effects (7.8 +/- 1.4 ml/h). The dipsogenic effects of sulpiride and PACAP38 were well correlated suggesting that both substances trigger drinking behavior activating the same hypothalamic mechanisms. Neither sulpiride nor PACAP38 promoted drinking when injected just 1.3 mm behind the effective zone. This negative result is an evidence of the neuroanatomical specificity of the dipsogenic effects of both substances. These preliminary results suggest that PACAP38 in the pfLH could be a neuropeptide regulating drinking behavior and perhaps body fluid volume and osmolarity and arterial blood pressure.
The purpose of this study is to test specifically which social influences and which problem behaviors predict drinking among a sample of African-American and Caribbean-American black adolescents residing in New York City. A total of 3212 African-American or Caribbean-American seventh graders completed questionnaires assessing their alcohol use, demographic characteristics, social influences to drink, and other behavioral measures. Logistic regression analyses examined predictors for the overall black sample and separately for each of the two black groups. The predictors of alcohol initiation were virtually identical for both groups (father's drinking, siblings' drinking, friends' drinking, peer drinking, and smoking) with the exception of marijuana use. Although there were some common predictors of alcohol consumption for the two groups (siblings' drinking, friends' drinking, and smoking), some factors only influenced alcohol consumption for African-Americans (father's drinking and marijuana use) and others only did so for Caribbean-Americans (deviance and absenteeism). These findings highlight the importance of examining the etiology of alcohol use for different black groups.
Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) plays a major role in acetaldehyde detoxification. The alcohol sensitivity is associated with a genetic deficiency of ALDH2. We and others have previously reported that such a deficiency influences the risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), hypertension, and myocardial infarction. Then we tried to find phenotypes to which the ALDH2 polymorphism contributes by conducting several evaluations including biochemical and functional analyses of various tissues in a community-dwelling population. Several serum proteins, lipids, and lipid peroxides (LPO) levels showed differences between the nondefective (ALDH2*1/1) and defective (ALDH2*1/2 and ALDH2*2/2) ALDH2 individuals. However, alcohol-drinking behavior is known to affect these evaluations. Thus, we excluded the effects of alcohol-drinking behavior from the association with the ALDH2-deficient genotype through correction and found that the concentration of LPO was significantly lower in the nondefective ALDH2 females than the defective females. The effect of frequent alcohol-drinking behavior in males seems to override the phenotype of the high serum LPO level. These results indicate that the ALDH2 deficiency may enhance oxidative stress in vivo. Thus, these findings suggest that ALDH2 functions as a protector against oxidative stress and the decrease in protection may influence the onset of AD, hypertension, and myocardial infarction.
Drinking portrayals and alcohol advertising are common in popular media and young people are highly exposed to them. Although some studies found that exposure to drinking portrayals is related to increases in drinking among youth, other studies produced mixed and inconclusive findings. Similarly, research on the effects of alcohol advertising presents mixed findings. Recent longitudinal research and studies that used modeling techniques that controlled for reciprocal effects suggests that exposure to, attention to, and liking of alcohol advertising may influence children and adolescents' drinking beliefs and behaviors. Further research, and particularly longitudinal studies that address at-risk populations, such as children and minorities, is necessary before firm conclusions about the effects of media portrayals and alcohol advertising can be reached.
The comparative analysis of learned and natural drinking behavior under native angiotensin-I (A-I), angiotensin-II (A-II) and its protein-peptides complexes (PPC) administration in rats, was performed. Various effects of these substances on drinking behavior were observed. PPC of A-I became a dipsogenic agent as compared with the native one. Moreover, PPC of A-II facilitated selectively learned and not natural forms of drinking behavior. It's suggested that PPC of angiotensins play a specific role in endogenous mechanisms of thirst. An important function of this complexes due to their conformational properties and participation in realization of basic needs, is discussed.
The purpose of this study was to quantify the extent to which subjective ratings of craving for alcohol in the alcohol-abusing or dependent person (herein, alcoholic) correlate with measurable and specific characteristics of obsessions and compulsions. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified to reflect obsessionality and compulsivity specifically related to heavy drinking (Y-BOCS-hd) was used for this purpose. Highly significant correlations were found in the alcoholic population (n = 62) between subjectively rated craving for alcoholic beverages and several of the Y-BOCS-hd questions regarding alcohol-related thoughts and drinking behavior. Additionally, mean craving scores were considerably greater in the alcoholic population than in the matched control population (n = 62). The data suggest that craving shares specific features in common with the obsessions of obsessive-compulsive disorder and that the existence of craving is dependent on the presence of obsessive thoughts about drinking. Positive correlations between craving and measures of compulsive drinking behavior also were found; compulsive drinking behavior, however, may reflect the consequences of craving rather than a fundamental characteristic of craving itself. The data show that despite difficulties in defining the term craving, it is clearly a phenomenon that is experienced or endorsed by most alcoholic subjects and is not by most persons who do not abuse alcohol.
Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of serotonin (5-HT) in pigeons dose-dependently evokes a prompt and intense drinking behavior, which resembles that evoked by i.c.v. injections of angiotensin II (ANGII) in the same species. In the present study, we have examined the possible participation of central ANGII receptors in both ANGII- and 5-HT-evoked drinking behavior. The effects of i.c.v. injections of 5-HT (155 nmol), avian ANGII ([Asp(1),Val(5)]-ANGII, 0.1 nmol) or vehicle were studied in pigeons pretreated 20 min before with i.c.v. injections of the nonspecific ANGII receptor antagonist [Sar(1),Ile(8)]-ANGII (SAR; 1, 0.1 or 0.01 nmol), the AT(1) receptor antagonist losartan (2 or 4 nmol), the AT(2) receptor antagonist PD 123,319 (2 or 4 nmol) or vehicle (NaCl 0.15 M, 1 microl, n = 8/group). Immediately after treatment, they were given free access to water and drinking behavior was recorded during the next 60 min. At the doses presently used both 5-HT and ANGII treatments evoked comparable water intake amounts with similar behavioral profiles. While pretreatment with SAR dose-dependently reduced the water intake evoked by both 5-HT and ANGII, neither losartan nor PD 123,319 pretreatment affected the drinking induced by these treatments. The present results indicate that ANGII- and 5-HT-induced drinking in pigeons may be mediated by AT receptors possibly different from mammalian AT(1) and AT(2) receptors and suggest that activation of ANGII central circuits is a necessary step for the intense drinking induced by i.c.v. injections of 5-HT in this species.
Drinking among adolescents and young adults has received more attention during the recent past, but little research has focused on the drinking styles that might characterize younger people. A typology of drinking behavior has special relevance for this group, since the adolescent years and young adult years are formative in the development of drinking habits. This study used a model that had been applied to "normal" drinking behaviors of adults. However, the set of drinking variables was expanded to cover a wider range of activities, and a second set of behaviors, intended to reflect potential "problem" drinking, were derived from the National Council on Alcoholism criteria for the diagnosis of alcoholism. The set of 55 "normal" drinking behaviors was factor analyzed, yielding a six-factor structure. The first four factors were quite similar to previous work on adult drinking styles, and the remaining two factors clearly related to the drinking of younger people. The "problem" drinking variables yielded a two-factor structure, one set consisting of serious but uncommon experiences and the second set consisting of less serious and more common experiences. Several of the "normal" drinking factors were significant predictors of the "problem" drinking scores, suggesting that certain styles of drinking are more likely than others to lead to later problems.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a fear appeal message on college students' drinking behavior using the extended parallel process model. METHOD: A survey was administered to a random sample of undergraduates (n=224) in 38 national fraternal organizations. RESULTS: Both perceived efficacy and perceived threat were significantly correlated with drinking behavior. There was a significant difference both in drinking behavior and attendance at alcohol-free events between those who heard and those who did not hear the message. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretically based fear appeal messages may be a useful way to promote responsible drinking among college students.
The purpose of this present experiment was to determine the effect of substance P (SP) on the feeding and drinking behavior. This was investigated in male rats totally food and water deprived for a period of 24 h. The intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of SP (20 microg 10 microl-1 rat-1) suppressed food and water intakes during the 8 h following administration. At 24 h after i.c.v. injection of SP, the rats were not recovered 10.5% of their feeding and 24.9% of their drinking behavior. However, contrary to what happened with SP, i.c.v. injection of the vehicle of SP did not suppress feeding and drinking behavior, as was observed also in the rats (second control) cannulated i.c.v. but which did not receive any injection. At 48 h after SP injection, no alteration of food and water intakes was observed. These results indicated that SP may function as an endogenous anorexigenic peptide.
Injection of norepinephrine (NE) into the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of satiated rats is known to stimulate eating behavior. In addition, drinking behavior is potentiated just prior to the onset of eating, followed by a strong inhibition of water intake. To understand the relationship between these PVN noradrenergic phenomena and endocrine processes associated with the PVN, chronically hypophysectomized animals were tested for their behavioral responsiveness to PVN NE injection. Pituitary ablation was found to abolish the NE-elicited eating response and the NE drinking suppressive effect. However, hypophysectomy had no impact on the NE-elicited preprandial drinking response, nor did it affect drinking produced by carbachol, angiotensin, and histamine, or the feeding and drinking responses induced by insulin. These results demonstrate that hypophysectomy disturbs PVN noradrenergic mechanisms in a behaviorally and pharmacologically specific specific manner.
Sensitization induced by repeated drug exposure has been proposed to increase 'wanting' the drug and to facilitate the transition from moderate to excessive drug intake. The present study examined the effects of cocaine-induced sensitization on ethanol-drinking behavior in male and female rats from different strains. In experiment 1, rats were pretreated with six injections of saline or cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), spaced by 3-day intervals, and were subsequently allowed access to ethanol intake in an unrestricted free-choice procedure. In experiment 2, rats had acquired ethanol-drinking behavior and were exposed to the sensitizing treatment described previously or were left undisturbed. Subsequently, all animals again had access to ethanol. Whatever the sex and strain concerned, sensitized and control animals did not differ in either the acquisition or the maintenance of ethanol-drinking behavior, suggesting that cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization does not modify ethanol intake. The present results also confirm the sex- and strain-dependent character of alcohol intake and of the 'alcohol deprivation effect'.
A survey was conducted to determine which socio-cultural and psychosocial variables had the ability to discriminate adolescent drinking behavior at four different age groups. A total of 3,017 sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students in the Southeast participated in the study. Those students who were classified as moderate to heavy drinkers were more likely to be White, male, had higher scores on an alcohol knowledge test, were more liberal in their attitudes toward alcohol use, drank at an earlier age, and had friends who drank. When all predictor variables were considered as a group, the two most predominant characteristics for explaining student drinking behavior were peer behavior and attitudes toward alcohol. Parental drinking behaviors were significant for the younger students, but compared to the peer and attitude variables, their contributions to group separation were minor. Efforts to curb moderate or heavy drinking among adolescents should focus on the peer influences of adolescent drinking and related risk factors associated with problem drinking.