Personality risk for alcoholism and alcohol expectancies

Studies of the association between risk for alcoholism and alcohol expectancies reveal contradictory results. The link between risk and expectancies may vary with the type of expectancy and the limb of the blood alcohol curve. The current study examined the relation between personality risk for alcoholism (as measured by the MacAndrew scale) and anticipated stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol. Even when sex and drinking habits were controlled, subjects at higher risk expected fewer of the aversive, sedative effects of alcohol on both the ascending and descending limbs of the blood alcohol curve. Risk and positive, stimulant effects were orthogonal. These data suggest that high- and low-risk individuals may anticipate experiencing an equal intensity of alcohol's positive effects, but high-risk individuals anticipate negative effects that are less severe. The potential role of these risk-related expectancies in the development of problem drinking is discussed.