NCJ Number
196087
Journal
Addiction Volume: 97 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 717-726
Date Published
June 2002
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between education, occupation, positive alcohol expectancies and drinking behavior over a 2-year time period for individuals in young adulthood.
Abstract
The socioeconomic status (SES) variables of education level and occupational functioning correlate negatively with alcohol use. High levels of educational achievement and occupational functioning have been associated with lower levels of alcohol involvement. It is proposed that expectancies function as a mediator of the relationship between educational/occupational attainment and drinking behavior. The hypothesis is that changes in young adult functioning are linked to changes in social context and/or the availability of non-alcohol reinforcers, which in turn affect the reinforcement expected from alcohol. Participants were 172 adults from an ongoing longitudinal study of long-term clinical course of adolescent substance use treatment. The analyses used data from 6- and 8-year follow-ups. The sample was recruited from in-patient substance abuse treatment programs for adolescents. A community sample was matched on family history of substance abuse and SES at intake. The treated and community samples were compared on study variables at each time-point. Results show that these groups were significantly different in level of educational participation, total expectancy score, and most measures of alcohol involvement. There were no differences on occupational measures. The hypothesis that education and drinking behavior would be correlated was supported for the treated sample, but not for the community sample. The treated sample was significantly lower on educational achievement at the first assessment when the average age was 22 years. Contrary to the hypotheses, occupational variables were not correlated with drinking behavior for either group in the early to middle 20's. Results show that the relationship between prior educational attainment and later drinking was mediated by alcohol expectancy. This supports a central thesis of the study: that continued educational involvement directly or indirectly influences expected reinforcement from alcohol, which affects later alcohol use decisions. Further studies are required to explore whether greater levels of educational attainment affect alcohol related learning through increased opportunities for reinforcement other than alcohol, changes in the social context that alters exposure to alcohol, and the perceived reinforcement from alcohol or some other mechanism. 1 table, 2 figures, 37 references