effects of anxiety arousal on the consumption of alcohol by alcoholics and social drinkers
Post on 03-Jun-2018
216 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/11/2019 Effects of Anxiety Arousal on the Consumption of Alcohol by Alcoholics and Social Drinkers
1/8
-
8/11/2019 Effects of Anxiety Arousal on the Consumption of Alcohol by Alcoholics and Social Drinkers
2/8
A N X I E T Y
A R O U S A L
A N D C O N S U M P T IO N O F
A I C O H O L
4 7
Not all
investigations have supported
th e
escape learning model .
Th e
results f rom sev-
eral recent studies suggest that the initial
consumpt ion
of alcohol m ay serve toincrease,
rather than to decrease,
states
of arousal.
Tentative support fo r this effect is repor ted
by Mendelson, LaDou, and Solomon ( 1 9 6 4 ) ,
w ho found
that
alcoholics displayed an in-
crease in pulse rate and repor ted feelings of
anxiety
in the
initial
stages of
alcohol con-
sumption
in a
controlled drinking si tuation.
In the case of nonalcoholics, Williams (1966)
reported that
in a
social drinking si tuation,
alcohol consumption
of
approximately
six
ounces of whiskey reduced anxiety as re-
ported on an adjective checklist , but with
increased consumption beyond this amount,
anxiety tended to increase.
The
studies reviewed above deal with
th e
investigation
of the
relat ionship between
self-
repor ted or
observed states
of
arousal
and
alcohol consumption. One mayalso
assess
the
relationship between relatively stable per-
sonality traits
of
predisposition
to
arousa l
c f . trai t anxie ty) and drinking
behavior .
Attempts to
define
a global alcoholic per -
sonality as an etiological
factor
in alcoholism
have generally been unsucc essful. D espite
th e
failure
to find a
reliable syndrome
of traits
among alcoholics, many reports suggest that
alcoholics score higher than normal subjects
on
traditional personali ty measures
of
arousal,
such as anx ie ty and neuroticism (e.g. , Men-
aker, 1967; Okulitch
&Marlatt,
1 9 7 2 ) .
U s-
in g social drinke rs as subjects, Sm art (19 68)
has repor ted that scores on the Manifes t
Anxiety
Scale are not sig nificantly related to
consumpt ion rates. I t has yet to be deter-
mined , however, what relationship exists be-
tween personal i ty
test
scores
of
arousal
and
th e actual drinking behavior of
alcoholics.
The present study also represents an a t t empt
to assess the degree of association between a
personali ty measure of t ra i t anxiety and
dr inking rates in alcoholics and social drinkers.
The first objective of the present investi-
gation was to
assess
th e alcohol consumption
rates
in
nonabstinent alcoholics
and
social
drinker control subjects as a func t ion of ma-
nipulated
states
of anxiety (threat of painful
or nonpainful elect r ic
shock) .
A second ob-
jective was to obtain a measure of disposi-
tional
or
trai t anxiety (th e Neuro ticism scale
of th e EysenckPersonality Inventory) and to
determine
th e
relationship
of
tes t perfo rm ance
to consumption rates in both groups of sub-
jects.
The first
hypothesis
w asthat
alcoholics
would dr ink more than
social
dr inkers , re-
gardless of the arousal-condition assignment.
In ad dition, hypotheses w ere derived from
thetheoretical position that advocates a posi-
t ive relationship between various measuresof
arousal
and
alcohol consumption. From this
point of view, i t would be predicted that all
subjects would consume more alcohol in the
high-threat condition
than
in the
low-threat
condition, and
that
there would be a signifi-
cant, positive relationship between th e per-
sonali ty measure of arousal and the amount
of alcohol consumed fo r both alcoholics and
social drinkers.
METHOD
Subjects
Twenty nonabs t i nen t male alcoholics and 20 male
social drinkers were recrui ted f rom th e Madison,
Wisconsin,
area .
All
poten t ia l subjects were screened
fo r eligibility in a preexperimental interview de-
scribed below.
Sources
used to recrui t alcoholic
subjects
and the
n u m b e r
w ho qualified for
partici-
pation were as follows: (a) A letter was sent to
81 men who had been admitted five or more t imes
to a local inpatient alcoholism treatment center,
asking for volunteers who had resumed dr inking
since their last discharge. Tw o subjects
w ere
ob-
tained from
this source.
(6 ) Sign-up sheets asking
for volunteers to take part in an alcohol-tasting ex-
per iment were distributed
to a
n u m b e r
of
local
bartenders
and
hotel desk clerks
in
areas frequented
by alcoholics. Two eligible subjects were obtained
by
this
me thod ,
(c )
A
representative
f rom th e
p ro j -
ec t
conducted
a pretrial interview
with
persons
going before th e loca l municipa l -court on d runken-
ness
charges .
If an individua l qualified for inclu-
sion and
volunteered
to participate, th e presiding
j u d g e
3
gave him a su spend ed sentence on the con -
dition
that he
serve
in the
study.
Tw o
subjects
were obtained in this manne r , (d ) Three subjects
responded to a classified newspaper ad which asked
fo r male drinkers
to
participate
in a
tasting
ex-
periment, (e ) Eleven subjects were 'obtained
through
an ex-alcoholic contact w ho recrui ted names of
volunteers.
8
W e
wish
to
express
our
appreciation
to
Russell
J. M ittelstadt of Da ne Cou nty , Wisconsin, for his
help
in
recrui t ing potential subjects
fo r
this
ex-
per iment .
-
8/11/2019 Effects of Anxiety Arousal on the Consumption of Alcohol by Alcoholics and Social Drinkers
3/8
428
R A Y M O N D L.
HIGGINS
AND G. A L A N
M A R L A T T
The 20 social drinkers were recrui ted f rom th e
same sign-up
sheets described above (2 subjects);
from
sign-up sheets given
to the staff of a
local
m anuf ac tu r ing
firm ( 1 0 ) ; and
from
the newspaper
ad (8) . A ll subjects received a pay me nt of $5 for
their participation in the study.
All subjects were informed tha t th e study involved
the tasting of alcoholic beverages and w ere told to
arrive
at the
labora tory
in a
sober state . Whenever
possible,
th e
subjects were t ransported
to and f rom
the laboratory by taxi .
All
subje cts were adminis-
tered
a
Breathalyzer test
at the
time
of
their arrival .
If th e
blood alcohol level exceeded .06%,
th e
sub-
ject w as told to
.return
at a later
date.
In addi-
t ion, no subjects were included unless they reported
some degree of alcohol usage during the previous
two weeks and
stated
no intentions of abstaining
from
alcohol. Three subjects were excluded on this
basis.
Subjects were classified as alcoholics or
social
drinkers on the basis of responses given during a
20-minute
screening interview. Information
was ob-
tained concerning
th e
subject 's demographic
and
socioeconomic
sta tus, current dr inking pa t te rns and
rates, previous hospitalizations or involvement in
t rea tment programs
fo r
alcoholics,
and
record
of
arrests for drunken conduct. To ensure
th a t
sub-
jects would
not
bias their responses
in
order
to
qualify
fo r participation, no
i n fo rmat i o n
w as given
concerning the criteria for acceptance into the study.
Subjects included in the study as alcoholics had
to
mee t
one or
both
of the
following
cri teria:
(a )
On e
or
more
pr eviou s admissions to an alcoholic
treatment faci l i ty and (6) fou r or m o r e arrests for
drunken conduct. Based on se l f - report , 16 subjects
had
been admi t ted
to^a
t rea tment program
on a t
least on e
occasion
(X =
5.3
admissions),
and 15
qualified
on the basis of arrest record A T
=
24.5
arrests) . Subjects were included in the social drink-
in g g roup if they did not abstain
from
alcohol and
if
they were
no t
classified
as
alcoholics.
As an
added
precaution, social
drinkers
were excluded
from
par-
ticipation
if
they reported heavy drinking
or
dis-
closed tha t drinking sometimes represented
a
p rob-
lem for them.
For the
alcoholics
w ho qualified fo r
par t ic ipa t ion,
the age range was 29-64 A T = 45.4), and for the
social drinkers
th e
range
w as
25-60
(X = 41.2).
Although an a t tempt was made to match subjects
on the
basis
of
educa t iona l background
and
social
class standing, the mean social class index
(Hol-
lingshead, 1957) was f o u n d to be 64.8 (Social Class
V )
for th e
alcoholics
and
48.0 (Class
IV) for the
social
drinkers.
Because
of the
significant
difference
between
th e
groups
=
4.60, d/
= 3 8 ,
p
-
8/11/2019 Effects of Anxiety Arousal on the Consumption of Alcohol by Alcoholics and Social Drinkers
4/8
A N X I E T Y
A R O U S A L AND C O N S U M P T IO N or A L C O H O L
4 29
will be able to take as many tastes of the drinks
as you need to answer th e questions. Just pour th e
drinks into the glasses as you need them.
The arousal manipulation w as patterned after th e
procedure outlined by
Schachter
et al.
(1968),
and
consisted
of threatening the subjects
with either
a
painfu l
or
nonpainful shock.
Once
th e
instructions
fo r
the
tasterating
task
were completed,
all subjects
were told: .
I
men t io n ed
before
that
our
main interest
in
this
experiment is the effect of touch ontaste.We have
decided to use electrical stimulation as the way to
excite
your sense of touch because then we can
carefully cont ro l
th e
a m o u n t
of
stimulation that
you get .
Subjects assigned to the low threat condition were
then told:
In order to create the
effect
we're interested in,
w ewill only need
to use the
lowest
level
of
stimu-
lation possible. A t most , you will only feel a
slight tingle in your skin, but youprobably won't
feel anything at all. We're only interested in the
effect
of very weak s t imulat ion .
The
exper imenter (a male graduate student) then
attached
tw o
small electrodes
to the
subject's left
ankle and
connected them
to a
small
box
containing
tw o SizeD flashlightbatteries,visible to the subject.
During this period, the experimenter engaged in a
short conversat ion directed a t reducing any inap-
propriate
fears
reported by the subject .
Fo r subjects assigned to the high-threat condition,
th e exper imenter removed a cover f rom a stand,
revealing an impressive assortment of electrical gad-
get ry
and a
console showing
a
variety
of
lights
and dials. Drawing at tent ion to this equipment, th e
experimenter continued:
This machine is the one we wil l be using to gen-
erate
th e
shock .
I'm
afraid tha t
th e
shock will
be
quite
painfu l , but in order for it to have any
e f f e c t
o n y o u r
taste,
it has to be of a pre tty high voltage.
Of
course, there won't be any permanent damage.
With that introduction,
th e
su b j ec t
w as
at tached
to the console by placing two large electrodes on
his left ankle. No effor t was made to reduce the
subject 's
concern about receiving the shock. Switches
on
th e
console were turned
on,
activating
th e
lights
and
dials.
Th e
subjec t
w as
told
that
although
th e
shock would not begin at this time, i t was neces-
sary to warm up theeq u ip men t .
After
th e
hook-up
phase, the
subjects
in
both
thre at condit ions were given these instruct ions:
The best way for us to test th e effect of thestimu-
lation is to have you rate th e drinks now, be-
fore
th e
st imulat ion,
to see how the
drinks
taste
u n d e r
normal circumstances,
and
then
to
rate
them again, after th e stimulation, to see what
changes it has made. But before you begin rat ing
the drinks, I would likeyou to fill out this short
questionnaire. Fill it out by simply making
a
mark in the appropriate
space
fo r
each question.
The quest ionnaire consisted of seven S-point rat-
in g scales, two of which were designed to measure
th e
degree
of
arousal reported
by
subjects
in the
tw o
threat conditions. These
tw o
items were How
anxious
do you
feel
at
p resen t ?
and
How nervous
or uneasy
do you
feel about taking
part in
this
ex -
per iment and being shocked?
After th e subjects completed th e questionnaire,
the experimenter concluded the instruct ions:
I'm
going into
th e
next room now,
but we
will
be able to hear each other over this intercom.
When I get
there,
I will tell you w h e n to start.
Don ' t begin until I tell you to . Do you have any
questions abou t what you are to do? Can you
briefly
tel l me what you're supposed to do when
w e
start? Okay. Remember that when I say to
begin
you can start filling out the taste
rating
forms.
You can start
with
th e
wo rd
already in
th e slot.
Th e subject w as then left to wo rk on the rating
task. Fifteen minutes later ,
th e
exper imenter
re -
entered th e room and asked the subject to again
complete the rating scale questionnaire to assess
an y reported changes in arousal level. All of the
subjects
were then told t h a t they
had
been
as-
signed
to a
control group
and that
they would
no t
receive any shock. The subjects were thanked for
their cooperat ion, paid, and taken to a wait ing
taxi. Th e entire expe rime nt lasted an average of SS
minutes .
Dependent Measures
Beverage consumption. Th e
to ta l amount
of
bev-
erage consumed (in f luid ounces) was determined
by subtract ing the amount of each beverage re-
maining in the bottles and glasses f rom the original
amount
presented.
Th e actual volume of pure al -
cohol consumed was also computed by referring to
conversion tables listing the amount of alcohol con-
tained in specific volumes of each of the beverages
used.
Sip
rate.
D u r i n g
th e
taste rating task,
th e
subjec t
w as
covert ly observed through
a
disguised one-way
mirror by an ass is tan t who was unaware of the
subject 's condit ion assignment. Th e assistant moni-
tored
th e
subject 's general behavior
and
recorded
th e
n u mb er
of
sips taken
per
minute dur ing
th e
task
session.
A
single
sip was
defined
as a
discrete
touch
of the alcohol to the subject 's lips. (This
measure does not necessarily reflect th e frequency
of swallows taken, since several swallows may have
occurred within each sip.) In addit ion, est imates
were mad e of the average amount of both beverage
and pure alcohol consumed per sip by dividing th e
overall consumption rates obtained by the total
frequency of sips.
Blood alcohol level.
Posttask
blood alcohol levels
were est imated by the use of a
formula
given by
th e American Medical Association (1959), which
yields
th e
maximum concentrat ions possible imme-
diately after consumption of
alcohol,
given th e
amo u n t
of
pure alcohol consumed
and the
subject's
body weight.
-
8/11/2019 Effects of Anxiety Arousal on the Consumption of Alcohol by Alcoholics and Social Drinkers
5/8
4 R A Y M O N D L.
HIGGINS
AND G. A L A N M A R L A T T
TABLE
1
MEANNUMBERor LIQUID
O U N C E S
OFTOTAL
B E V E R A G E
A N D
PURE
A L C O H O L C O N S U M E D B Y A L C O H O L I C S
A N D
S O C I A L
DRINKERS
Gr oup
Alcoholics
Social drink ers
High state
anxiety
Total
beverage
7 . 2 0
3.20
Pu re
alcohol
1.56
.54
Low
state
anxiety
Total
beverage
7.60
3.23
P u r e
alcohol
1.46
.48
RESULTS
Effectiveness of
Arousal M anipulation
Analyses
of
var i ance were per fo rmed
fo r
each
of the two
rating scales
for
anx ie ty
arousal which were adminis tered both pr ior
to and
following
th e taste ra t ing task. Whi le
no significant
differences wer e found
for the
threat condition or subject populat ion factors
in
the f i rs t adminis t rat ion , the anxiety ma-
nipulat ion did
show some
effect
on the
sec-
ond admin i s t r a t ion r a t ings . On the S-point
scale i tem How anx ious do you
feel
at pres-
ent? th ehigh-threat
group obtained
a
mean
rat ing
of
2.SO,
as
compared
to
2.00
for
low-
threat subjects 7 7
=
3.37,
f
= 1/36, p
top related