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For centuries, people have used alcohol to relieve stress-that is, the interpretation of an event as signaling harm, loss, or threat. The organism usually responds to stress with a variety of behavioral, biological, and cognitive changes. Alcohol consumption can result in a stress-- response dampening (SRD) effect, which can be assessed using various measures. Numerous individual differences and situational factors help determine the extent to which a person experiences SRD after consuming alcohol. Individual differences include a family history of alcoholism, personality traits, extent of self consciousness, cognitive functioning, and gender. Situational factors influencing alcohol's SRD effect include distractions during a stressful situation and the timing of drinking and stress. The attention-allocation model and the appraisal disruption model have been advanced to explain the influence of those situational factors. KEY WORDS: AOD (alcohol or other drug) use; psychological stress; tension reduction theory; family AODU (AOD use, abuse, and dependence) history; personality trait; cognition; gender differences; context dynamics; temporal context; theoretical model; literature review
Since antiquity, people have observed a complex relationship between alcohol consumption and stress. Not only have stressful situations induced drinking, but alcohol consumption also has long been considered a way of relieving stress. For example, more than 2,500 years ago, the Greek lyric poet Alcaeus suggested drinking as a way to cope with distress: "We must not let our spirits give way to grief ... Best of all defenses is to mix plenty of wine, and drink it."1 Similarly, Shakespeare referred to alcohol's stress-reducing properties in his play Julius Caesar (Act IV, Scene III): "Speak no more of her. Give me a bowl of wine. In this I bury all unkindness ." The concept that alcohol can "calm the nerves" is, in fact, widely held across cultures. In the United States, both social drinkers (i.e., people who consume alcohol within socially accepted limits and who experience no alcohol-related problems) and problem drinkers (i.e., people who experience alcohol-related social, medical, or legal problems) believe in alcohol's stress-reducing properties. The media and the entertainment industry also consistently portray drinking as a way to relieve stress (Wilson 1988). Researchers believe that alcohol's anticipated stress-relieving effect is a primary motivation for many people to consume alcohol, despite the often harmful consequences of drinking (Sayette 1993a).