Reasons for Drinking and Alcohol Use in Young Adults at High Risk and at Low Risk for Alcoholism

This study examined the relationship of attitudes towards the use of alcohol and alcohol consumption among young adult offspring of alcoholic (N=130) and non-alcoholic (N = 75) parents. No differences were found between the two samples in the subjects’reported reasons for drinking or reasons for limiting consumption. In general, the greater the total amount of alcohol consumed, the more important were social enhancement and relief of unpleasant affect as reasons for drinking. Further, reasons for limiting alcohol consumption did not distinguish the high risk and low risk groups. Across both samples, lower consumption was associated with not wanting to become intoxicated, not liking the alcohol effect and not liking the taste. The associations found between reasons for not drinking and decreased consumption were smaller than the associations found between reasons for drinking and increased consumption.