Coping, expectancies, and alcohol abuse: A test of social learning formulations.

components of this approach, tests of a comprehensive social learning model of abuse have been lacking. The model proposed here postulates that alcohol abuse can be predicted from a causal chain that includes alcohol consumption and to as proximal determinants and general coping skills and positive alcohol expectancies as more distal determinants. To evaluate this model in a way that permits simultaneous consideration of its multiple determinants and control for demo- graphic influences, path analytic techniques were applied to data from problem and nonproblem drinkers drawn from a general population sample. The hypothesized model accounted for significant variance in abuse status. Drinking to cope emerged as the most powerful predictor, exerting influence via direct and indirect pathways. Coping styles indicative of avoidance of emotion emerged as more important predictors of abuse than problem-focused coping. The predictive value of coping was moderated by alcohol expectancies such that avoidant styles of coping with emotion were predictive of abuse status only among drinkers expressing greater belief in alcohol's positive reinforcing proper- ties. These findings both support and refine the social learning perspective on alcohol abuse. Theoret- ical and treatment implications are considered. Social learning theory posits that people who exhibit abusive patterns of drinking differ from healthy drinkers in their abil- ity to cope with the demands of everyday life and in their beliefs about alcohol (Abrams & Niaura, 1987).~ According to this per- spective, deficiencies in more adaptive coping skills and positive expectancies about alcohol's effects operate independently and jointly to promote the use of drinking as a coping mechanism. Reliance on alcohol to cope should lead to heavier drinking and, over time, increase the risk of alcohol abuse. This perspective on the development and maintenance of alcohol abuse has heavily influenced the content, techniques, and goals of a range of alco- hol treatment programs. In particular, the teaching of general and alcohol-specific coping skills, and to a lesser extent the mod- ification of beliefs about the effects of alcohol, are integral com- ponents of various treatment approaches (e.g., social skills training). Despite its widespread influence in the treatment field, no comprehensive test of the social learning perspective has been conducted. The present study tests a causal model de-