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Previous research showing everyday memory is impaired by heavy alcohol use may have underestimated the cognitive impairment of heavy users because drinkers consuming over the recommended limits for safe drinking have often been treated as a homogeneous group, often with a low threshold for inclusion. The current study investigated whether the reported linear relationship applies to participants consuming alcohol significantly above recommended limits. The everyday memory of 80 participants (43 men; modal age, 31-35 years) was investigated using the Prospective Memory Questionnaire. Participants also detailed their average weekly intake of alcohol and other substances. Current heavy users of alcohol (who consumed on average over 25 units per week) reported more memory problems than low (1-9 units per week) or medium users (10-25 units per week). Participants undergoing counselling for alcohol use reported more deficits than low or medium drinkers, but fewer than current heavy drinkers. Possible reasons for this were discussed. Strengths and limitations of subjective approaches to memory assessment were discussed as well as suggestions for future research. DOI 10.2466/PR0.106.3.905-917

A study of 80 midwestern college students indicated that higher scores on Lapsley's 1990 Imaginary Audience scale were associated with lower grades, greater use of immature self-handicapping strategies, and several negative consequences associated with drinking alcohol.

The playing of drinking games, the quantity-frequency of alcohol consumption, and various problems related to drinking were assessed among a national sample of 3,830 alcohol consuming students from 58 American colleges and universities during the 1990-1991 academic year Among Light-Moderate drinkers, a significantly higher proportion of students who had played a drinking game experienced 15 of 17 drinking-related problems. On the other hand, among Heavy drinkers there was little difference between game and nongame players. A higher percentage of game players had experienced five of the problems. Generally, for many problems, more than twice as many Heavy drinkers among both game and nongame players had exhibited the problem compared to more moderate drinkers. It was concluded that game playing appeared to increase problems related to alcohol primarily among more moderate drinkers whereas those who were heavy drinkers were exhibiting more problems regardless of their game-playing status. Education about the effect of game playing among students who are moderate drinkers should be addressed.

The effect of sex, religion, and amount of alcohol consumed on the number of self-reported alcohol-related problem behaviors was examined for 331 students who were approached on three Eastern United States campuses and asked to complete anonymously a questionnaire reporting the number of drinking-related problem behaviors. It was hypothesized that Catholics, men, and people who drank more would report more problem behaviors. A 2 x 3 x 4 factorial analysis of variance with unequal ns showed all three hypotheses were confirmed, but no significant interactions were found. Given the enormity of the problem of alcohol abuse in the United States, further research examining alcohol use and the associated problem behaviors is essential.

134 high school students from a small high school in north central Kansas completed the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale, Fenigstein, et al.'s Self-consciousness Scale, and Zaks' Aggression Scale. Analyses of variance showed significant differences between boys and girls but not among grades. On the aggression and alcohol measures boys scored higher than girls, but lower on public self-consciousness. Youth of divorced parents scored significantly higher than those of nondivorced parents on aggression, private self-consciousness, and general self-consciousness. Aggression scores were significantly and positively correlated with those on the alcohol and private self-consciousness scales. When students' alcoholism scores indicate problems with alcohol, their scores on aggression indicate greater aggression and their private self-consciousness scores indicate sensitivity toward events in their environment, then having concerns about inner self can inhibit the action required for change. MacAndrew scores correlated significantly and negatively with scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness. When MacAndrew scores indicated problems with alcohol, the students' scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness suggested confidence in social settings, being at ease interacting with people. The present study involved students from a single rural district so increased understanding will require more extensive research if strategies for prevention and intervention are to be developed and utilized.

Summary.-A questionnaire used by Rohsenow in 1983 was administered to 87 alcoholic men and women taking part in rehabilitation programs at local Swedish outpatient rebabilitation clinics. The purpose was to explore their alcohol-related expectancies for themselves and for others and to compare these with the results from other similar studies in other cultures. The answers, scored according to Rohsenow's eight factors, indicated that alcoholics expected larger positive and negative effects for others than for themselves. This discrepancy was slightly modified by such variables as sex, age, and drinking habits. Alcoholics in Sweden seem to have alcohol-related expectancies similar to those of social drinkers both in Sweden and in other Western countries.

24 men and 24 women were randomly assigned in equal numbers to an Alcohol group, a Placebo group, or a Control group. The alcohol does was 1.0 ml of 100% alcohol/kg of body weight. Subjects were tested three consecutive times using Stroop's Color Word Test. The dependent measures were total time needed to complete the test, number of errors made and number of hesitations. Data were grouped into three blocks of 100 words. Results indicated that number of hesitations was too insenstive a measure to yield any significant effects. On the two first measures alcohol had a detrimental effect in that the Alcohol group needed more time to complete the test and made more errors than the Placebo group. There was also a significant interaction of alcohol does by sex by blocks on both these measures, indicating that the detrimental effect of alcohol over time was restricted to women. Different implications of the results were discussed.

Two measures of stress (life-events and perceived stress) and a measure of alcohol-drinking behavior were administered to 6,747 adult males. Analysis was carried out to examine the extent to which subjects classified into drinking-behavior groups differed on stress measures while controlling for age, income, and race. Significant differences held up under age, race, and income controls for life-events and perceived stress between the abstinence, common-use, and problem-drinking groups. Stress scores increased sequentially across the drinking-behavior groups. Apparently, men who are life-long abstainers (teetotallers) experience fewer life-events and perceive less stress than moderate drinkers, while moderate drinkers experience less stress than heavy drinkers.

University students, 86 men and 141 women, completed a questionnaire from which their level of egocentrism, amount of alcohol consumed, and number of reasons for drinking could be estimated. Analysis supported earlier findings that men consume significantly more alcohol than do women. Both men and women who were rated as having high egocentrism scores gave significantly more reasons for drinking than did the women scoring low on egocentrism. Also, there was a significant correlation between egocentrism and reasons for drinking but not between egocentrism and amount consumed. The correlation was higher between the number of reasons given for drinking and the amount of alcohol consumed. Since men scoring high on egocentrism report the highest consumption, while high-scoring women report the lowest consumption, it is concluded that egocentrism plays an indirect role in the consumption of alcohol and the role it plays is different for men and women.

A sample of 50 college women taking part in a previous study about expected effects of moderate doses of alcohol were contacted a second time. Of the original 50 subjects 47 now reported their expectancies for a large dose of alcohol both for themselves and for others by simply stating the three most probable effects in terms of behavior and emotion. They primarily expected themselves to become happy and others generally to misbehave. When answers were coded as positive or negative, subjects expected positive or negative effects both for themselves and others on the first choice. On the second and third choices, the proportion of negative expectancies increased significantly, especially for others. Results from the previous and the present study were compared, and it was concluded that subjects seem to have very few but dominant expectancies.

To investigate the influence of locus of control on a fine motor coordination task where subjects had ingested or believed that they had ingested alcohol, 60 men who were enrolled in introductory psychology and scored in the upper or lower thirds of the population on Rotter's I-E Scale (30 external and 30 internal scorers) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: a control group (no alcohol expected/no alcohol received), an alcohol group (alcohol expected/alcohol received), and a placebo group (alcohol expected/no alcohol received). Pretest and posttest measures of performance on the Purdue Pegboard Test were obtained from all subjects. Subjects in the control groups were given three 6-oz. (177.4-ml) glasses of fruit punch over a 35-min. waiting period between pretest and posttest on the Purdue Pegboard. The alcohol groups drank a sufficient number of similar glasses (usually three) to produce a 0.1% measure on a breathalyzer before completing the posttest on the Purdue Pegboard. The placebo groups were told that they were drinking an alcohol-based drink but were served three glasses of a nonalcoholic, rum-flavored fruit drink. These groups were also told that they measured 0.1% on a breathalyzer. Control groups, both internal and external scorers, showed essentially no change from pre- to posttest on the Purdue Pegboard. The alcohol groups, on the other hand, both internal and external scorers, showed a significant decrement in performance. The internal-placebo group did not differ from the two control groups and showed no decrement in performance. The external-placebo group, however, did not differ from the two alcohol groups and showed a significant decrement in performance at posttest on the Purdue Pegboard, despite the fact that they had ingested no alcohol. This supported the hypothesis that the external scorers who believed they had ingested alcohol would behave as though they had.

Problems in temperament and hostility have been implicated in alcohol use disorders. This study investigated the relationships among temperament, hostility, and adverse consequences of alcohol consumption in a sample of 180 healthy young social drinkers. Rigid behavior pattern and antagonistic hostility were positively correlated with adverse consequence of drinking.

In 27 nations of the world, alcohol consumption predicted suicide rates, but changes in alcohol consumption did not predict changes in suicide rates.

A questionnaire was administered to 793 randomly chosen Black university students whose ages ranged from 18 to 25 years. Analysis of variance suggested the association between depressive symptoms and alcohol use but not with tobacco use; however, alcohol and tobacco use were highly correlated. Regression analysis identified drinking status as predictor for depressive symptoms.

The cognitive social-learning-theory literature on alcohol abuse points to failure to generate appropriate alternative behaviors to drinking as a major predictor of relapse to drinking. Viewing drinking as a continuous variable, ranging from abstinence to abuse, it should be possible to demonstrate a relationship between problem-solving abilities and drinking patterns. The hypothesis that individuals' perceived problem-solving skills are related to their pattern of alcohol use was examined. It was expected that poorer perceived problem-solving skills would be related to maladaptive use of alchohol in response to problem situations. 192 students in Introductory Psychology at a midsized southern university participated. Each subject completed questionnaires assessing frequency and quantity of alcohol use, and stimuli associated with the onset of drinking. The Problem-solving Inventory was used to measure perceived problem-solving skills. Drinking pattern variables were formed by factor analysis. Canonical correlation analysis of the data supported the hypotheses. Students with lower confidence in problem-solving capabilities reported greater use of alcohol to cope with negative emotions and to escape from responsibilities than students with high confidence in their abilities. Amount of alcohol consumed was not related to problem-solving skills.

123 high school students completed the short form of the Cooper-Smith Self-esteem Inventory--School Form and its Lie scale, Beck's Depression Inventory, and an Alcohol Dependency Scale. Analyses of variance (2 x 4) showed boys had higher mean Lie scores than girls, and freshmen had lower mean alcohol dependency scores and depression scores were significant and negative, but values were significant and positive between self-esteem and lie scores and between depression and alcohol dependency scores. Much work is required to understand better the relations among depression, self-esteem, and drug and alcohol dependency in high school students if interventions are to focus upon prevention.

80 alcoholic men and women registered for counseling at different Swedish outpatient units volunteered to complete semantic differential scales related to emotional expected effects of alcohol intoxication. Analyses indicated that alcoholics expect large doses of alcohol to increase pleasure, dominance, and arousal. These results were discussed in comparison with the results from previous related studies with nonalcoholic samples.

150 Swedish men and women were asked about their alcohol-related expectancies by letting them state the three most probable effects they expected for themselves and for others from drinking alcohol. The three effects were to be rank-ordered. Answers were classified into 11 different categories and the emerging picture indicated that both men and women expected mostly positive effects both for themselves and for others. Results were discussed by comparing the present results with those from other descriptive studies concluding that previous findings were largely confirmed. Theoretical and methodological points of view were also discussed.

Subjects responded under LAG-5 reinforcement conditions after consuming alcohol in table wine (0.4 g/kg ethanol). For reinforcement (points), a four-response sequence from two buttons was required which differed from the previous five sequences of four responses. In addition, some subjects responded under restricted conditions in which sequences were limited to those of moving a cursor within a 3 x 3 matrix, while other subjects had no such restrictions. Also some subjects worked alone while others were accompanied by an experimenter. Analysis showed that compared to controls, men in the unrestricted condition who received alcohol showed a decrease in uncertainty of responding. The results are discussed in terms of previous work on alcohol and behavioral variability.

Most of the conclusions drawn by Carroll and Carroll (1995) regarding alcohol abuse and risky sex among college students are misleading and unfounded given the ambiguity inherent in their methodology.

A comparison of 42 male and 42 female first-year university students showed significant personality differences between the populations. Also, males were more influenced by their peers to drink alcohol than were females.

25 percent of 2,124 patients, treated for their injuries due to either suicide attempts or automutilation, had consumed alcohol before inflicting themselves with injury. Across the life-span prevalence of males was observed for all age-groups. The highest risk group was located in the age-range between 20 and 29 years.

A significant correlation of 0.36 was found between scores on the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire and units of weekly alcohol consumption self-reported by 166 social drinkers aged between 18 and 70 years.

This study examined the relationship between adolescent girls' drinking behavior and the expected reactions of parents and friends to this behavior. Analysis indicated that friends were expected to be generally more approving than parents of frequency and quantity of current drinking. The discussion focused on these results and their relationship to competing hypotheses about adolescents' alcohol use.