The importance of alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy in the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption

Expectancies about alcohol have been shown to be related to and predictive of alcohol consumption. Research to date, however, has often failed to make a clear distinction between expectations about the effects of alcohol (alcohol expectancies) and expectations about one's ability to resist drinking in certain situations (drinking refusal self-efficacy). There is some evidence that alcohol expectancies (AE) and drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) can play differential roles in the prediction of consumption in terms of quantity and frequency of drinking. This study aimed to replicate and extend these findings to the community population. Subjects (N = 185) were recruited from the general community using a peer network system. They were given a booklet comprising six self-report measures, including the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (DEQ), the Drinking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (DSEQ), and the Khavari Alcohol Test (KAT), which produces measures of usual and maximum quantity as well as frequency of the usual and maximum consumed. It was expected that AE would be related to frequency of consumption whereas DRSE would be related to both quantity and frequency. The findings confirmed the differential role of AE and DRSE in drinking, and the role of factors within the two concepts. Results indicated that low DRSE was related to higher frequency of general consumption and a larger maximum quantity on any one occasion. AE was related to frequency, but not to quantity, as expected. The findings are presented with respect to the theoretical constructs; clinical and research implications are also discussed