ension Reduction Theory is maximally relevant to adolescent drinking, then this explanation would evidence a stronger magnitude of relationship to drinking frequency than would the other explanations.
Knopf (1984) has noted that, "the jury is still out" with respect to a well defined etiological understanding of factors contributive to adolescent alcohol abuse and alcoholism. However, Bland and Orn (1986) have suggested that increasingly there is evidence for the involvement of psychological distress in both adolescent and adult drinking.
Similar findings were reported in studies conducted by Helzer (1988) and Christie, Burke, Regier, Darrel and Rae (1988). Findings such as the foregoing offer support for the theoretical position that general stress and psychological tension are, to a major extent, responsible for teen alcohol use and abuse.
In an effort to test the position that general stress and psychological tension are, to a major extent, responsible for teen alcohol use and abuse this study examined whether teens' self-reported drinking frequency was related to their levels of psychological stress, general stress, and to teens' ratings of five reasons for drinking alcohol, one of which was tension-reduction.
The five particular reasons for drinking were selected because Knopf (1984) reported that extensive reviews of the literature had repeatedly shown these reasons to be highly relevant to both teen alcohol use and alcohol abuse. These reasons are that alcohol drinking among teens is due to: (1) interpersonal frustrations and anxieties; (2) tension-reduction; (3) peer pressure; (4) conflict at school; and (5) conflict at home. The study further examined whether psychological distress was a stronger contributor to alcohol drinking frequency than was general stress.
The research problem may be broken down into the following research questions:
1. Is self-reported frequency of alcohol drinking systematically ...