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The Role of Self in Alcohol Use

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Book cover Perception of Self in Emotional Disorder and Psychotherapy

Part of the book series: Advances in the Study of Communication and Affect ((ASCA,volume 11))

Abstract

The role of self in alcohol use has become a renewed focus of theoretical and research concern. The present chapter will attempt to review and integrate many of the recent studies and, we hope, will serve to stimulate research in new and useful directions. We will begin by considering the relation between alcohol consumption and one’s self-image. Three issues will be central to the discussion: Are people with low self-esteem and poor self-concepts more likely to drink? Is the state of intoxication associated with an improved view of oneself? Do social drinkers and alcoholics differ with regard to these effects? The next section of the chapter will consider two recent theories that postulate the construct of self as key in understanding some motivations to consume alcohol: the self-handicapping model of alcohol use and the self-awareness model of alcohol use. We will review evidence on each of these models and try to present issues that we feel are important for future research to resolve. Finally, we will briefly consider models that incorporate the notion of self-regulation in their accounts of the effects of alcohol consumption on social behavior. According to one point of view, alcohol consumption results in socially inappropriate behavior by virtue of its pharmacological effect of disrupting cognitive processes related to self-regulation. According to a second point of view, the perception that one is consuming alcohol results in self-regulation with respect to a deviant behavioral standard because it provides an excuse to engage in behavior that is not normally sanctioned.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    Jay G. Hull & Paula P. Schnurr

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  1. Jay G. Hull
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  2. Paula P. Schnurr
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Addiction Research Foundation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Lorne M. Hartman

  2. Department of Psychology, Erindale College, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Kirk R. Blankstein

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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York

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Hull, J.G., Schnurr, P.P. (1986). The Role of Self in Alcohol Use. In: Hartman, L.M., Blankstein, K.R. (eds) Perception of Self in Emotional Disorder and Psychotherapy. Advances in the Study of Communication and Affect, vol 11. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1793-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1793-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9004-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-1793-7

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