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Self-awareness, self-esteem, and attributional style: An integrated model of alcohol consumption
Abstract
Past research efforts have examined the relationships between alcohol use/abuse and each of the following: (1) causal attributions, (2) private self-awareness, and (3) self-esteem. Reviews such as that by Commins (1984) have noted these relationships, prompting questions regarding the relative contributions of each in explaining alcoholism. In the present study, a model integrating these variables was tested and compared against a comparison set of previously validated variables. In experiment one, male and female college-age students completed questionnaire materials assessing attributional style, private self-awareness, self-esteem, MacAndrew scale performance (1965), and alcohol-related behaviors. In experiment two, male in-patients undergoing 30-day treatment for alcoholism in a Veterans Administration Hospital completed identical instruments. Within the student sample, regression analyses revealed that daily alcohol consumption could not be accounted for by the three model variables. However, risk for developing alcoholism was explained by the model, with self-esteem and risk positively related. In the alcohol treatment sample, the model was effective in explaining alcohol consumption. Self-esteem demonstrated explanatory strength, with lower self-esteem related to increased daily alcohol intake. In addition, alcoholic risk could be effectively accounted for by the model variables. Both self-enhancing attributional bias and increased private self-awareness were related to risk in this second experiment. Considered together, results of experiments one and two suggest that support for the self-awareness model of alcohol use (Hull, 1981) may vary as a function of how consumption is measured. More work examining alcoholic samples and naturalistic, non-experimental consumption patterns is suggested within this research area. Secondly, future longitudinal research focusing on the relationship between self-esteem and risk for developing alcoholism appears necessary in light of the patterns found. Thirdly, subsequent attributional research in the addictions may benefit from measurement of specific, rather than global causal reasoning styles (i.e., why one smokes vs. how one explains success and failure). Implications for assessment and treatment of alcohol use problems are discussed.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy|Social psychology|Public health
Recommended Citation
Lopez, Daniel Lee, "Self-awareness, self-esteem, and attributional style: An integrated model of alcohol consumption" (1989). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9004691.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9004691