PSYCH 230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 74: Sensation Seeking, Comorbidity
Document Summary
Those with the most positive expectations for alcohol are at higher risk of aud. Especially if expectations exist early in life, even before first consumption. Media portrayal, peer attitudes, and parental behavior can all influence alcohol expectations and model use and behavior. How a person acts when drinking is partly due to modeling & expectations. The subjective experience of alcohol can be highly reinforcing for different people for different reasons. Anxious people may use alcohol to feel relief, calm down. Those who are depressed or have self-hatred may drink to lower self-awareness and distract from problems. Those with trauma or a bad past may drink to forget/stop ruminating. Those bored with life may drink to get stimulated (sensation seeking) Different influences are at play at different stages of use. 1) initiation most influenced by social sphere and environment. 2) continued use may be due to short term positive effects: Interference with work/life (as when entering rehab)
