Effects of alcohol and expectancy on self-disclosure and anxiety in male and female social drinkers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Electronic versions

  • G.M. Schippers
    University of Nijmegen
  • Mieke de Boer
    University of Nijmegen
  • Cees van der Staak
    University of Nijmegen
  • W. Miles Cox
To study the effects of alcohol consumption and expectancy on self-disclosure and self-reported anxiety during a social interaction, 32 male and 32 female social drinkers were assigned to one of four groups comprising a 2 × 2 factorial balanced-placebo design. Alcohol expectancy reduced the intimacy level of self-disclosure but not the amount of self-disclosure. Alcohol consumption had no effect. Thus, in contrast to the common view that alcohol functions as a “social lubricant,” it served to inhibit social interaction. There was a three-way interaction among alcohol consumption, expectancy, and gender of subjects, such that the largest increase in anxiety was reported by male subjects who expected but did not receive alcohol. Thus, the previously reported inverse relationship between anxiety and self-disclosure was not confirmed, and alcohol's effect on anxiety seems unrelated to its effect on self-disclosure.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)305-314
JournalAddictive Behaviors
Volume22
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 1997
View graph of relations