Psychological treatment useful for alcohol problems
Expectations of positive mood changes is a strong trigger to drink for the 25 percent of Australians drinking above safe levels but who are not completely dependent on alcohol, according to a University of Queensland study.
As part of her PhD with the School of Psychology, Dr Nicole Lee examined the relationship between a drinkers' thoughts about alcohol and learned behaviours associated with drinking.
The thoughts about alcohol included expectations of changes in mood such as feeling relaxed or more assertive, as well as beliefs about one's ability to say "no" to more alcohol. These thoughts are gained from watching others, such as family members, and from personal experience. Learned behaviours refer to the desire or craving for drink and become more automatic as experience with alcohol increases.
"I found that in hazardous and harmful drinkers (men drinking more than four standards drink a day and women drinking more than two standard drinks a day), the expectancy factors did come into play in the decision to drink more," Dr Lee said.
"However, in alcohol-dependent drinkers (who make up about five percent of the population), these beliefs played little role in the decision to drink. These drinkers automatically crave a drink when exposed to cues, such as the sight of a favourite pub or even the smell of alcohol. For them, conditioning is the more prevailing factor in decision to drink."
Dr Lee said the study's results suggested psychological factors were important in the way a person drank alcohol and had ramifications for treatment methods.
"Alcohol problems have traditionally been treated as a genetic problem and regarded as a disease. And, although there is some evidence that dependent drinkers may have some genetic predisposition to experiencing problems with alcohol, my research shows a strong relationship between psychological factors and alcohol consumption," she said.
"The findings also have implications for the types of psychological therapies offered to high risk and dependent drinkers. Other studies have shown that just five minutes of advice and counselling can reduce consumption by hazardous and harmful drinkers by around 30 percent. Over-consumption of alcohol is one of the biggest health problems in our community. It is implicated in a wide range of disorders and diseases and it exposes drinkers to a greater risk of accidents and long-term physical and psychological harm."
Around 80 percent of Australians of drinking age report using alcohol and Australians drink approximately 7.9 litres of absolute alcohol (230 standard drinks) per capita per year.
For more information, contact Dr Nicole Lee (telephone 07 3238 4072).
