Negative expectancies of drinking may be powerful in teens

In “Developmental Differences Emerge in How Negative Consequences, Negative Expectancies, and Alcohol Use Relate Over Time,” published in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, researchers looked at the aversive learning process in which negative consequences of using alcohol curtail drinking. However, the literature on this is mixed, so researchers wanted to look at how an aversive learning process works – for whom, and when. They found that in adolescence, negative consequences were not associated with negative expectancies, but negative expectancies were inversely associated with alcohol use. In contrast, negative consequences were positively associated with negative expectancies in young adulthood, but negative expectancies were not associated with alcohol use. The study by Pereda and Colder, suggests that public health messages should be tailored by developmental period. Instead of having an actual aversive learning process, allowing negative consequences to occur in order to deter future drinking, it is possible that negative alcohol expectancies may mediate the relationship with future drinking. Negative alcohol expectancies represent learned beliefs regarding the anticipated negative outcomes of alcohol use, the researchers write. Overall, negative alcohol consequences do not have the same power, so that it's not necessary to wait for negative consequences or punishments.