o reduce tension, and because tension reduction is reinforcing, people drink to escape it (Marlatt & Rohsenow, 1980). Strong evidence to support the validity of the theory comes from epidemiological findings which indicate that the prevalence of anxiety disorders in alcoholics ranges from 16 to 37%, compared to a rate of only 4-5% in the general population (Welte, 1985). Notwithstanding, there seems to be a subset of people for whom the predictions of the TRH do not hold. For instance, in a study conducted by Conway, Vickers, Ward, and Rahe (1981) it was found that the consumption of alcohol among Navy officers during periods of high job demands was actually lower than the consumption during low-demand periods. In addition, other studies (i.e., Mayfield, 1968; Mendlson, Ladou, & Soloman, 1964) have shown that some drinkers actually consider alcohol as a tension generator rather than a tension reducer. Overall, when taking into account these conflicting findings, it seems prudent to find some middle ground. The solution to this problem than is a modified version of the TRH, specifying the conditions under which stress will lead to an increase in drinking. Moderating and Mediating Factors in Stress Induced Drinking. In addition to stress, several other variables have been shown to be crucial in determining an individual's drinking behavior. These variables include gender of drinker (gender), coping behavior of drinker (coping), and alcohol outcome expectancies of drinker (expectancies). In the following discussion, the importance of each of these variables to drinking will be considered first, followed by an evaluation of these as potential moderators or mediators of stress in drinking. Differential Gender Drinking Behavior It has been repeatedly demonstrated that significant differences exist between the drinking patterns of men and women (Hilton, 1988). In a comprehensive survey of US drinking habits conducted by the US National Cente...
