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Cross-National Study of Motives for Drinking Alcohol

NCJ Number
194212
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 215-223
Author(s)
James T. Gire Ph.D.
Date Published
2002
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study compared the drinking motives of Americans versus Nigerians and hypothesized that a collectivist orientation might lead to a different pattern of motives for drinking than a predominately individualist perspective.
Abstract
The role of individualism-collectivism in influencing the motives for alcohol was examined by comparing motives for drinking among 72 American (individualist) and 83 Nigerian (collectivist) respondents in 1998. The study also examined the role of gender. The Drinking Motives Questionnaire that classifies drinking motives into coping, enhancement, and social motives was used. The American respondents were hypothesized to score higher on coping motives and lower on social motives than Nigerian counterparts. The data showed that there was a significant main effect of culture on coping motives. American respondents were more likely to indicate coping as a reason for using alcohol than were Nigerian respondents. Males were more likely to cite coping as a reason for drinking alcohol than were female respondents. There was also a significant effect on culture on social motives. Nigerian respondents were more likely to cite social motives for drinking alcohol than Americans. The main effect of gender was also significant on social motives. Male participants were more likely to attribute drinking to social motives than were female respondents. There was a significant main effect of gender on enhancement motives. Male respondents were more likely to use alcohol to enhance positive affect than were female respondents. One possible way of explaining these findings is that problem drinking may be less prevalent in collectivist societies. The presence of in-group members may constitute such a viable source of social support that a person who is struggling to cope with a problem need not resort to drinking. The lack of social supports in an individualist setting may lead to alcohol consumption. The results have implications for intervention approaches regarding alcohol use for people with differing cultural orientations. Figures, table, references

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