Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Attitudes towards Drinking Alcohol and Attribution Style: Do Alcoholics and Non-alcoholics Differ?


Affiliations
1 Ph.D Scholar, Department of Psychology University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
2 Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology St. Wilfred's College for Girls, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Alcohol consumption is a phenomenon that is not new to many societies, drinking alcohol is as old as human history itself and its socio-cultural impact on many societies did not begin recently. For some people drinking alcohol is part of fun, curiosity or culture but for some drinking alcohol stems from their belief, failure and their way of explaining events in life. The present study aims to analyze the difference between alcoholics and non-alcoholic adults on attribution style and attitude towards drinking-alcohol. The sample of the study consists of 180 adults (60 alcoholics & 120 non-alcoholics) from Jaipur city selected through purposive sampling method. Out of 60 alcoholics 20 frequent alcoholics and 40 infrequent alcoholics were selected from addiction centre. Participants completed the Attribution Style Questionnaire (Peterson & Seligman, 1982) and Attitude towards Drinking and Alcoholism (Basu, 1998). Data was subjected to F test and t test to study the significant differences in three groups (frequent alcoholics, infrequent alcoholics, & non-alcoholics) on dimensions of attribution style and attitude towards drinking alcohol. Findings revealed that significant difference exists between frequent alcoholics, infrequent alcoholics and non-alcoholics on the dimensions internality and globality of attributional style. Frequent alcoholics tend to attribute their negative life events to internal factors and believe that their problems will persist other spheres of life as well. No significant difference was observed between them on dimension of stability. Frequent alcoholics, infrequent alcoholics and non-alcoholics show significant difference on attitude towards drinking alcohol on acceptance, avoidance and social dimension. No significant difference was obtained on the dimension of rejection towards alcohol. The results of this research will have the potential to yield psychologists and counselors important insights into how cognitive factors contribute to the alcohol consumption in adults.

Keywords

alcoholism, alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, attributional style, attitude
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behaviour. In J. Kuhl and J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control (pp. 11-39). Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg: Germany, 1139.

  • American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

  • Anderson, P., O'Donnell, A., & Kaner, E. (2017). Managing alcohol use disorder in primary health care. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(11), 79. https://doi.org/1 0.1007/s11920-017-0837-z

  • Arun, P., Chavan, B., & Bhargava, R. (2010). Attitudes towards alcoholism and drug taking: A survey of rural and slum areas of Chandigarh, India. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 3, 126-136. 10.1080/17542863.2010.502343.

  • Asagba, R.B., Agberotimi, S.F., & Olaseni, A.O. (2021). Prevalence and psychological correlates of alcohol use among Nigerian university students. Journal of Substance Use, 10(02), 852-859. doi: 10.1080/14659891.2021.1875067

  • Basu, D., Malhotra, A., Varma, V.K., & Malhotra, R. (1998). Development of a scale to assess attitude toward drinking and alcoholism. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 40(2), 158-164.

  • Becker, H. C. (2008). Alcohol dependence, withdrawal, and relapse. Alcohol Research and Health: The Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 31(4), 348-361.

  • Bodnár, V., Nagy, K., Cziboly, A., & Bardos, G. (2021). Alcohol and placebo: The role of expectations and social influence. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 19. 10.1007/s11469-020-00321-0.

  • Dehaan, L., & Boljevac, T. (2010). Alcohol prevalence and attitudes among adults and adolescents: Their relation to early adolescent alcohol use in rural communities. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 19(3), 223-243.

  • Diagnostic & statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5 ed.) (2013). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 49097. ISBN 978-0-89042- 554-1.

  • DiBello, A.M., Miller, M.B., Neighbours, C., Reid, A., & Carey, K.B. (2018). The relative strength of attitudes versus perceived drinking norms as predictors of alcohol use. Addiction Behavior, 80, 39-46.

  • Dowd, E. T., Lawson, G. W., & Petosa, R. (1986). Attributional styles of alcoholics. The International Journal of the Addictions, 21(4-5), 589-593. https://doi. Org/10.3109/10826088609083543

  • Fairbairn, C. E., & Sayette, M. A. (2014). A social-attributional analysis of alcohol response. Psychological Bulletin, 140(5), 1361-1382. https://doi.org/10.10 37/a0037563.

  • Fairbairn, C. E., Sayette, M. A., Wright, A. G., Levine, J. M., Cohn, J. F., & Creswell, K. G. (2015). Extraversion and the rewarding effects of alcohol in a social context. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 124, 660-673. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000 024

  • Goldman, M.S., Brown, S. A., & Christiansen, B. A. (1987). Expectancy theory- thinking about drinking. Psychology Faculty Publications. 1569.https://digitalc ommons. usf.edu/psy_facpub/1569

  • Goldstein, B.I., Buchanan, G.M., Abela, J.R., & Seligman, M. (2000). Attributional style and life events: A diathesis-stress theory of alcohol consumption. Psychological Reports, 87, 949 - 955. Goldstein & Benjamin, I. (2002). Coping style and attributional style as mediators of alcohol use and depression among young adults. Ottawa: National Library of Canada.

  • Graaf, A. (2013). Alcohol makes others dislike you: Reducing the positivity of teens' beliefs and attitudes toward alcohol use. Health Communication, 28(5), 435-442.

  • Hastings, G., Anderson, S., Cooke, E., & Gordon, R. (2005). Alcohol marketing and young people's drinking: A review of the research. Journal of Public Health Policy, 26(3), 296-311.

  • Heggeness, L., Lechner, W., & Ciesla, J. (2019). Coping via substance use, internal attribution bias, and their depressive interplay: Findings from a three-week daily diary study using a clinical sample. Addictive Behaviors, 89, 70-77. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.09.019. Fairbairn, C. E., Sayette, M. A., Wright, A. G., Levine, J. M., Cohn, J. F., & Creswell, K. G. (2015). Extraversion and the rewarding effects of alcohol in a social context. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 124, 660-673. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000 024

  • Janssen, M.M., Mathijssen, J.J., van Bon-Martens, M.J., van Oers, H. A., & Garretsen, H. F. (2014). Alcohol segment-specific associations between the quality of the parent-child relationship and adolescent alcohol use. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 872.

  • Jones, S.C., Andrews, K., & Francis, K. (2017). Combining social norms and social marketing to address underage drinking: Development and process evaluation of a whole-of-community intervention. Plos One, 12(1), e0169872. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0169872

  • Leighton, K.N., & Terrell, H.K. (2020) Attributional styles. In V. Zeigler-Hill and T.K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1779

  • Mannes, Z.L., Shmulewitz, D., Livne, O., Stohl, M., & Hasin, D.S. (2021). Correlates of mild, moderate, and severe alcohol use disorder among adults with problem substance use: Validity implications for DSM-5. Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research, 45(10), 2118-2129. doi: 10.1111/acer.14701.

  • Mehrabi, M., Hajebi, A., Mohebbi, E., Baneshi, M. R., Khodadost, M., Haghdoost, A. A., Sharifi, H., & Noroozi, A. (2019). Prevalence and correlates of lifetime alcohol use among adult urban populations in Iran: A knowledge, attitude, and practice study. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 51(3), 290-297. https://doi.org/10.1080/0279 1072.2019.1578909

  • Morris, H., Larsen, J., Catterall, E., Moss, A.C., & Dombrowski, S. (2020). Peer pressure and alcohol consumption in adults living in the UK: A systematic qualitative review. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1014. https://doi.org/10.1 186/s12889-020-09060-2

  • Nguyen, T.T.H., Sendall, M.C., & White, K.M. (2018). Vietnamese medical students and binge drinking: A qualitative study of perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and experiences. BMJ Open, 8, 1-10.

  • Peterson, C., Semmel, A., Baeyer, C., Abramson, L.Y., Metalsky, G.I., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1982). The attributional style questioannire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6(3), 287-299.

  • Rabindran & Gedam, D.S. (2016). Alcohol withdrawal syndrome. International Journal of Medical Research and Review, 4(10), 1722-1723. doi:10.17511/ijmr r.2016.i10.01.

  • Rehm, J. (2011). The risks associated with alcohol use and alcoholism. Alcohol Research and Health: The Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 34(2), 135-143.

  • Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4(3), 219- 247. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.4.3.219

  • Shaghaghy, F., Saffarinia, M., Iranpoor, M., & Soltanynejad, A. (2011). The relationship of decision making styles and attributional styles in addicted and non-addicted men. Addict Health, 23(3), 99-104.

  • Shim, S., & Maggs, J. (2005). A cognitive and behavioral hierarchical decision-making model of college students' alcohol consumption. Psychology and Marketing, 22(8), 649-668.

  • Simons, J., & Carey, K. B. (1998). A structural analysis of attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana use. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(7), 727-735. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167298247005

  • Sloan, F. A., Eldred, L. M., & Davis, D. V. (2014). Addiction, drinking behavior, and driving under the influence. Substance Use and Misuse, 49(6), 661-676. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2013.858167 Rehm, J. (2011). The risks associated with alcohol use and alcoholism. Alcohol Research and Health: The Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 34(2), 135-143.

  • Stephens, A.N., Bishop, C.A., Liu, S., & Fitzharris, M. (2017). Alcohol consumption patterns and attitudes toward drink-drive behaviors and road safety enforcement strategies. Accident Analysis and Preview, 98, 241-251.

  • Vuchinich, R.E., Tucker, J. A., Bordini, E., & Sullworld, A.F. (1981). Attributions of causality for drinking behavior made by alcoholics and normal drinkers. Drug Alcohol Dependence, 8(3), 201-206.

  • Warren, K. R., & Hewitt, B. G. (2010). NIAAA: Advancing alcohol research for 40 years. Alcohol Research and Health, 33(1-2), 517.

  • Weiner, B. (1972). Attribution theory, achievement motivation and the educational process. Review of Educational Research, 42(2), 203-215.

  • Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92(4), 548-573. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.92. 4.548


Abstract Views: 276

PDF Views: 0




  • Attitudes towards Drinking Alcohol and Attribution Style: Do Alcoholics and Non-alcoholics Differ?

Abstract Views: 276  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Shephal Sharma
Ph.D Scholar, Department of Psychology University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Uma Mittal
Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Tarika Sharma
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology St. Wilfred's College for Girls, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Abstract


Alcohol consumption is a phenomenon that is not new to many societies, drinking alcohol is as old as human history itself and its socio-cultural impact on many societies did not begin recently. For some people drinking alcohol is part of fun, curiosity or culture but for some drinking alcohol stems from their belief, failure and their way of explaining events in life. The present study aims to analyze the difference between alcoholics and non-alcoholic adults on attribution style and attitude towards drinking-alcohol. The sample of the study consists of 180 adults (60 alcoholics & 120 non-alcoholics) from Jaipur city selected through purposive sampling method. Out of 60 alcoholics 20 frequent alcoholics and 40 infrequent alcoholics were selected from addiction centre. Participants completed the Attribution Style Questionnaire (Peterson & Seligman, 1982) and Attitude towards Drinking and Alcoholism (Basu, 1998). Data was subjected to F test and t test to study the significant differences in three groups (frequent alcoholics, infrequent alcoholics, & non-alcoholics) on dimensions of attribution style and attitude towards drinking alcohol. Findings revealed that significant difference exists between frequent alcoholics, infrequent alcoholics and non-alcoholics on the dimensions internality and globality of attributional style. Frequent alcoholics tend to attribute their negative life events to internal factors and believe that their problems will persist other spheres of life as well. No significant difference was observed between them on dimension of stability. Frequent alcoholics, infrequent alcoholics and non-alcoholics show significant difference on attitude towards drinking alcohol on acceptance, avoidance and social dimension. No significant difference was obtained on the dimension of rejection towards alcohol. The results of this research will have the potential to yield psychologists and counselors important insights into how cognitive factors contribute to the alcohol consumption in adults.

Keywords


alcoholism, alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, attributional style, attitude

References