NCJ Number
115763
Journal
International Journal of the Addictions Volume: 23 Issue: 10 Dated: (1988) Pages: 1057-1070
Date Published
1988
Length
14 pages
Annotation
In this study, 61 white male alcoholics from a residential treatment program in Ireland were compared with 53 white male alcoholics from a similar program in Canada on their rank ordering of 13 positive and 12 negative consequences they expected from drinking.
Abstract
Both the Irish and the Canadians ranked relaxation of inhibitions and the feeling of being less restricted by social convention as important in their hierarchy of positive expectations from drinking. They also hoped that alcohol would help them become more successful. The most significant study finding is the distinctively high value the Irish placed on mood alteration from alcohol and the importance they gave to the effects of detachment and relaxation in providing relief from uncomfortable and painful feelings. The Irish also showed a significant tendency to view alcohol as a stimulus for creativity, perhaps reflecting the myth of the drunken Celtic poet. Canadians, more so than the Irish, rated the reduction of social anxiety and the enhancement of sexual drive as positive expectations from alcohol. This finding is similar to that of other studies of alcohol consumption in North America. The greatest concern of the Irish subjects was that the alcohol would not successfully relieve their painful feelings and would produce adverse physical effects. The Canadians worried most about the loss of control over aggression and excessive spending under the influence of alcohol. 3 tables, 27 references.