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Alcohol and Anxiety: The Role of Drinking Context, Expectancy, and Sex of Subject

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Jalie A. Tucker
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
Stephen A. Maisto
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
Rudy E. Vuchinich
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
Laurie Blumenthal
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University

Extract

Contrary to traditional models of the emotional effects of alcohol (e.g., Conger, 1956), recent evidence has not supported the notion that alcohol's pharmacological action consistently reduces anxiety in all persons across all drinking situations (see reviews by Cappell, 1975; Freed, 1978; Higgins, 1976; Marlatt, 1976). Instead, emotional responses to alcohol, including changes in anxiety, appear to be critically determined by the drinking context characteristics (e.g., Kalin, 1972; Pliner & Cappell, 1974) and the drinker's expectations of alcohol's effects (e.g., Polivy, Schueneman, & Carlson, 1976; Wilson & Abrams, 1977).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1979

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