ponse to negative affects, when no coping alternative was present. For instance, Marlatt et al. (1975) have shown that drinkers who were provoked and were unable to retaliate drank significantly more at a subsequent taste rating task than drinkers who had the option to retaliate (Cooper et al. , 1988). Differential Expectancies About DrinkingAlcohol outcome expectancies (AOE) can be thought of as the beliefs people hold about the effects of drinking (Goldman, Brown, & Christiansen, 1987). These expectancies first develop in childhood as indirect learning experiences (e.g., media, family modeling, peer influence ) and, as a result of increased direct experiences with the pharmacological effects of alcohol, become more refined (Christiansen, Goldman, & Inn, 1982; Christiansen & Goldman, 1983; Christiansen, Goldman, & Brown 1985; and Miller, Smith, & Goldman, 1990). The expectancies that people hold about alcohol have been shown to predict alcohol consumption in a variety of settings (Goldman, Brown, & Christiansen 1987). Brown, Goldman, Inn, and Anderson (1980) have shown that light drinkers typically hold global expectancies about alcohol (i.e. alcohol affects multiple factors), whereas heavy drinkers typically hold more specific expectancies, such as alcohol's ability to increase sexual and aggressive behavior. Furthermore, Brown (1985a) has shown that people who hold the expectancy that alcohol enhances social experience are less likely to be problem drinkers than people who drink with the expectancy of tension reduction. It is important to note, however, that AOE may "vary with learning context, personal characteristics of the drinker, amount of alcohol consumed, and other addiction risk factors" (Brown, 1993; P. 58). Expectancies as a Mediating Factor of StressAlthough it is well established that AOE differentially predict drinking behavior (Brown, 1993), very little is known about how they exert their effects. To date, most of the r...
