A test of the appraisal-disruption model of alcohol and stress.
OBJECTIVE
Faced with a large body of contradictory findings, investigators have begun to propose cognitive factors that moderate the effects of alcohol on stress. We tested the hypothesis, stemming from the appraisal-disruption model (ADM), that alcohol would be more likely to reduce stress when consumed prior to exposure to a stressor than when consumed following exposure.


METHODS
Male and female social drinkers (N = 169, 85 men) with or without a parental history of alcoholism were recruited using separate structured clinical interviews with the participant and with a biological parent. Participants drank a moderate dose of alcohol or a placebo in one of two temporal sequences. Stress was induced by asking participants to present a self-disclosing speech about their physical appearance. Stress responses were assessed using four types of measures: self-reported anxiety, pulse rate, facial expression associated with negative affect and threat-related interference on a color-naming task.


RESULTS
Alcohol was generally more likely to attenuate stress responses when initial exposure to a social stressor followed drinking than when it preceded drinking.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings were consistent with predictions stemming from the ADM. Alcohol appears to be more likely to reduce stress when initial stress appraisal occurs during intoxication. In contrast, when initial appraisal occurs prior to drinking, alcohol is less effective in attenuating stress.
Sayette
M A
MA
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA. sayette+@pitt.edu
Martin
C S
CS
Perrott
M A
MA
Wertz
J M
JM
Hufford
M R
MR
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol