Relations between dietary restraint and patterns of alcohol use in young adult women.
The present study examined relations between dietary restraint and self-reported patterns of alcohol use, including separate assessment of quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption. One hundred seventy-six female university undergraduates completed the Restraint Scale (RS) and measures of their usual quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption over the past year. Quantity and frequency self-reports were scored separately and were also used to calculate 3 additional drinking variables: a composite weekly alcohol consumption score (drinks per week), a binge drinking categorical variable (where participants were classified as either binge drinkers or non-binge drinkers), and a yearly excessive drinking score (number of times in the past year that each participant consumed at least 4 alcoholic beverages per drinking occasion). RS scores were significantly positively correlated with scores on 4 of the 5 drinking behavior measures (i.e., quantity, drinks per week, binge drinking, and yearly excessive drinking, but not frequency). Thus, chronic dieting appears to be related to a relatively heavy drinking pattern that can be characterized as potentially risky, due to its established associations with adverse health and social consequences.
Stewart
S H
SH
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. sstewart@is.dal.ca
Angelopoulos
M
M
Baker
J M
JM
Boland
F J
FJ
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results