Alcohol Consumption Past 90-day drinking was assessed with self-report items measuring typical quantity of alcohol consumption, drinking frequency, and binge drinking (see Table 2). Heavy vs. Light Drinkers Heavy drinking status was based on self-report measures of past 90 day alcohol consumption (see above description). Participants who reported “typical” consumption of six or more drinks in a single sitting were categorized as heavy drinkers. Those who typically drank three drinks or less were categorized as light drinkers. Drinking behaviors in these two categories are described in Table 2. R e s u l t s T-test comparisons revealed complex associations between drinking status and expectancy endorsement. Examination of means reveals that heavy drinkers endorse significant more positive arousal, t(108)= -2.55, and sociability, t(108)=-2.06, expectancies than light drinkers at higher doses (ps <.01 and.05). No significant groups were found between these two groups at lower doses. In contrast, lighter drinkers endorsed greater liquid courage, t(108)= 2.22, and sexual enhancement expectancies, t(108)= 2.32, both ps<.05, at lower doses of alcohol than did their heavy drinking counterparts. No differences were found at higher doses for these expectancy types. No significant differences were found for personal attribute expectancies (see Table 3). Alcohol Consumption Past 90-day drinking was assessed with self-report items measuring typical quantity of alcohol consumption, drinking frequency, and binge drinking (see Table 2). Heavy vs. Light Drinkers Heavy drinking status was based on self-report measures of past 90 day alcohol consumption (see above description). Participants who reported “typical” consumption of six or more drinks in a single sitting were categorized as heavy drinkers. Those who typically drank three drinks or less were categorized as light drinkers. Drinking behaviors in these two categories are described in Table 2. R e s u l t s T-test comparisons revealed complex associations between drinking status and expectancy endorsement. Examination of means reveals that heavy drinkers endorse significant more positive arousal, t(108)= -2.55, and sociability, t(108)=-2.06, expectancies than light drinkers at higher doses (ps <.01 and.05). No significant groups were found between these two groups at lower doses. In contrast, lighter drinkers endorsed greater liquid courage, t(108)= 2.22, and sexual enhancement expectancies, t(108)= 2.32, both ps<.05, at lower doses of alcohol than did their heavy drinking counterparts. No differences were found at higher doses for these expectancy types. No significant differences were found for personal attribute expectancies (see Table 3). Positive Expectancies at High vs. Low Doses Among Heavy and Light Drinking Female College Students** Brenda S. Thapa, Preetal V. Karecha, Samantha B. Saturn, Aimee C. Schor, & Jennifer P. Read, Ph.D. University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York Presented at the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy Conference, New Orleans, LA, November 2004 Method (Cont’) Measures Alcohol-Associated Expectancies Alcohol Expectancy Circumplex (Rather & Goldman, 1992) 132 expectancy word-items describing the perceived effects of alcohol. Rated each item across the imagined dose on a scale from 0 (not at all true) to 6 (extremely true) according to the prompt “Drinking _____ drinks makes me…”  2 different imagined conditions (i.e., two drinks, four or more drinks).  Expectancy items were parceled into 5 expectancy constructs, based on thematic content (see Table 1 for internal reliability coefficients). These constructs were comprised of 38 positive expectancy items. 5 Positive Outcome Expectancy Constructs (# of items): Personal Attributes (9) Sociability (14) Positive Arousal (5) Sexual Enhancement (5) Liquid Courage (5) Method (Cont’) Measures Alcohol-Associated Expectancies Alcohol Expectancy Circumplex (Rather & Goldman, 1992) 132 expectancy word-items describing the perceived effects of alcohol. Rated each item across the imagined dose on a scale from 0 (not at all true) to 6 (extremely true) according to the prompt “Drinking _____ drinks makes me…”  2 different imagined conditions (i.e., two drinks, four or more drinks).  Expectancy items were parceled into 5 expectancy constructs, based on thematic content (see Table 1 for internal reliability coefficients). These constructs were comprised of 38 positive expectancy items. 5 Positive Outcome Expectancy Constructs (# of items): Personal Attributes (9) Sociability (14) Positive Arousal (5) Sexual Enhancement (5) Liquid Courage (5) Discussion Results show that female light and heavy drinkers differentially endorse positive expectancies based on imagined dose. Across all expectancy types, lighter drinkers had greater positive expectations for drinking at lower doses of alcohol than did heavy drinkers. Conversely, heavy drinkers tended to endorse greater positive expectancies for higher doses. This is consistent with the literature suggesting that expectancies influence drinking behavior, as drinkers appear to drink in accordance with how outcomes are anticipated by dose. However, as drinking behavior also has been shown to influence expectancies, it may also be the case that participants are more likely to endorse outcomes that they know/have experienced themselves. Finally, reports of positively-valenced alcohol cognitions consistent with participants’ own drinking behavior also would minimize cognitive dissonance about drinking. Of note is that heavy drinking participants endorsed more expectancies of positive arousal and sociability. These dimensions have been considered to be important influences on college drinking. Future studies should extend tests of these associations in mixed-sex samples. Further, as this sample included only regular drinkers, the extent to which these findings extend to infrequent drinkers or abstainers is unknown. Nonetheless, these findings offer information on how light and heavy drinkers perceive positive alcohol-related outcomes at different doses, and may offer suggestions for how these differences may be used to target expectancy processes in expectancy-based interventions. ** Supported by a grant from NIAAA (R21AA ) to Dr. Jennifer Read Discussion Results show that female light and heavy drinkers differentially endorse positive expectancies based on imagined dose. Across all expectancy types, lighter drinkers had greater positive expectations for drinking at lower doses of alcohol than did heavy drinkers. Conversely, heavy drinkers tended to endorse greater positive expectancies for higher doses. This is consistent with the literature suggesting that expectancies influence drinking behavior, as drinkers appear to drink in accordance with how outcomes are anticipated by dose. However, as drinking behavior also has been shown to influence expectancies, it may also be the case that participants are more likely to endorse outcomes that they know/have experienced themselves. Finally, reports of positively-valenced alcohol cognitions consistent with participants’ own drinking behavior also would minimize cognitive dissonance about drinking. Of note is that heavy drinking participants endorsed more expectancies of positive arousal and sociability. These dimensions have been considered to be important influences on college drinking. Future studies should extend tests of these associations in mixed-sex samples. Further, as this sample included only regular drinkers, the extent to which these findings extend to infrequent drinkers or abstainers is unknown. Nonetheless, these findings offer information on how light and heavy drinkers perceive positive alcohol-related outcomes at different doses, and may offer suggestions for how these differences may be used to target expectancy processes in expectancy-based interventions. ** Supported by a grant from NIAAA (R21AA ) to Dr. Jennifer Read I n t r o d u c t i o n Alcohol outcome expectancies have been shown to be strong predictors of drinking behavior, particularly among college students. Recent research has focused on expectancies regarding the positive effects of alcohol, and suggests that level of endorsement of positive expectancies may vary based on a number of individual level factors. Though some studies suggest that beliefs about alcohol may vary according to perceived alcohol dose the bulk of literature has not distinguished between heavy and light doses of alcohol in examining expectancy endorsement. Further, as drinking behaviors have been shown to influence alcohol expectancies, it is likely that endorsement of expectancies at different doses might vary by drinker status (i.e., heavy versus light drinkers). Identifying those expectancies most held by different types of drinkers could point to specific areas to be targeted in tailored expectancy-based interventions. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to compare heavy and light drinkers on alcohol outcome expectancies across two different imagined doses of alcohol (two drinks and four or more drinks). M e t h o d Participants From an initial pool of 185 drinking college women at a public university in the northeast, students who typically drank 3 or less drinks, or 6 or more drinks on a given occasion (N=110) were selected for expectancy comparisons. The participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 24. The mean age was 18.8 (SD = 1.360). Out of the 110 participants, 68 (62%) were freshmen in college, 22 (20%) were sophomores, 12 (11%) were juniors, 6 (5%) were seniors, and two reported as ‘other’ (e.g. fifth year senior, transfer students without definite standing). The majority of participants were of white ethnicity (n = 98, 89%). Over half of the participants lived on campus in residence halls (n = 74, 67%), a smaller portion lived at home (n = 17, 16%), or off campus not with family (n = 14, 13%). Procedure Eligible participants had to be regular drinkers (i.e., at least once/week in the past three months). Participants were recruited through a mass testing screen completed by over 90% of incoming introductory psychology students. Participants were notified of their eligibility via , and scheduled for study sessions by or telephone. Sessions were run in cohorts of participants, and lasted about an hour and a half. Informed consent was obtained at the beginning of each session. Students received academic credit for their participation. I n t r o d u c t i o n Alcohol outcome expectancies have been shown to be strong predictors of drinking behavior, particularly among college students. Recent research has focused on expectancies regarding the positive effects of alcohol, and suggests that level of endorsement of positive expectancies may vary based on a number of individual level factors. Though some studies suggest that beliefs about alcohol may vary according to perceived alcohol dose the bulk of literature has not distinguished between heavy and light doses of alcohol in examining expectancy endorsement. Further, as drinking behaviors have been shown to influence alcohol expectancies, it is likely that endorsement of expectancies at different doses might vary by drinker status (i.e., heavy versus light drinkers). Identifying those expectancies most held by different types of drinkers could point to specific areas to be targeted in tailored expectancy-based interventions. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to compare heavy and light drinkers on alcohol outcome expectancies across two different imagined doses of alcohol (two drinks and four or more drinks). M e t h o d Participants From an initial pool of 185 drinking college women at a public university in the northeast, students who typically drank 3 or less drinks, or 6 or more drinks on a given occasion (N=110) were selected for expectancy comparisons. The participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 24. The mean age was 18.8 (SD = 1.360). Out of the 110 participants, 68 (62%) were freshmen in college, 22 (20%) were sophomores, 12 (11%) were juniors, 6 (5%) were seniors, and two reported as ‘other’ (e.g. fifth year senior, transfer students without definite standing). The majority of participants were of white ethnicity (n = 98, 89%). Over half of the participants lived on campus in residence halls (n = 74, 67%), a smaller portion lived at home (n = 17, 16%), or off campus not with family (n = 14, 13%). Procedure Eligible participants had to be regular drinkers (i.e., at least once/week in the past three months). Participants were recruited through a mass testing screen completed by over 90% of incoming introductory psychology students. Participants were notified of their eligibility via , and scheduled for study sessions by or telephone. Sessions were run in cohorts of participants, and lasted about an hour and a half. Informed consent was obtained at the beginning of each session. Students received academic credit for their participation.