The relation of coping strategies to alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences in a college sample

According to the SLT of alcohol abuse, problem drinkers exhibit coping deficits and hold positive expectancies or beliefs about the effects of alcohol that promote the use of alcohol as a generalized coping strategy (Abrams, D.B. and Niura, R.S. ( 1987 ). Social learning theory. In: Blane, H.T. and Leonard, K.E. (Eds.), Psychological Theories of Drinking and Alcoholism , pp. 131-178. Guilford Press, New York; Wilson, T.G. ( 1987 ). Cognitive studies in alcoholism. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 55 (3), 325-331.). Coping is often conceptualized as consisting of emotion-focused, problem-focused, and avoidance coping categories (Folkman, S. and Lazarus, R.S. ( 1980 ). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior , 21 (3), 219-239; Billings, A.G. and Moos, R.H. ( 1981 ). The role of coping responses and social resources in attenuating the stress of life events. Journal of Behavioral Medicine , 4 (2), 139-157.). Despite some researchers' belief that this is an oversimplification (Carver, C.S., Scheier, M.F. and Weintraub, J.K. ( 1989 ). Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 56 (2), 267-283.), studies that have examined the relation of coping tendencies to alcohol consumption in college samples have used these categories (Evans, M. and Dunn, N.J. ( 1994 ). Alcohol expectancies, coping responses and self-efficacy judgements: a replication and extension of Cooper et al .'s 1988 study in a college sample. Journal of Studies on Alcohol , 56 (2), 186-193; Fromme, K. and Rivet, K. ( 1994 ). Young adults' coping style as a predictor of their alcohol use and response to daily events. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 23 (1), 85-97.). The results of the current investigation indicate that researchers should consider the relation of individual coping strategies to different aspects of consumption and alcohol-related consequences, and suggest that the tendency to use substances to cope may be an especially important determinant of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences for college students.