The moderating effects of tension-reduction alcohol outcome expectancies on placebo responding in individuals with social phobia

Addictive Behaviors
K Abrams, M G Kushner

Abstract

We conjectured that individual differences in tension-reduction alcohol outcome expectancies (TR-AOEs) could produce widely varying responses to manipulations in alcohol-placebo studies and tested this idea by having individuals with social phobia give speeches in front of a group. One speech occurred before and one after participants consumed either a placebo beverage or a control beverage (i.e., a nonalcoholic drink described as containing no alcohol). Study results indicate that the placebo manipulation reduced cognitive and affective symptoms of anxiety to a greater extent for males with high TR-AOEs than for males with low TR-AOEs. This pattern was not found for women in the placebo group or for individuals in the control group. These findings demonstrate a moderating effect of TR-AOEs on the association between the consumption of a placebo beverage and response to an anxiety challenge and highlight the importance of accounting for gender and outcome expectancies when evaluating psychoactive substances.

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Citations

Dec 15, 2010·Drug and Alcohol Dependence·Lynsay A AyerJohn E Helzer
Oct 15, 2008·The British Journal of Clinical Psychology·Stephan StevensAlexander L Gerlach
Sep 1, 2005·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Matt G KushnerSandra Sletten
Apr 11, 2012·Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica·L K ThorntonT J Lewin
Dec 15, 2012·Depression and Anxiety·Julia D BucknerChristine Vinci
Jul 27, 2005·Clinical Psychology Review·Eric P MorrisLindsay S Ham
Oct 25, 2016·Journal of Behavioral Addictions·Lucia RomoGaëlle Challet-Bouju
Aug 20, 2019·Psychopharmacology·Samuel R KrimmelTodd D Gould
Jun 25, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Sara Magelssen VambheimMagne Arve Flaten
Nov 17, 2021·The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse·Kenneth B AbramsHaiming Zhou

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