Objectives: The present study introduced a novel paradigm that combined sex differences and alcohol expectancy within an information-processing framework.
Methods: Forty-seven men and 77 women undergraduates who consumed alcohol performed a disorder-salient Stroop task consisting of alcohol words.
Results: Results showed that men consumed alcohol 5.2 times per month and 6.9 drinks per typical drinking occasion; women consumed alcohol an average of 6.2 times per month and 4.3 drinks per typical drinking occasion. There was a statistically significant interaction between sex and alcohol expectancy on reaction time.
Discussion: Women with low alcohol expectancies tended to respond more slowly to alcohol cues than women with high alcohol expectancies. Men with high alcohol expectancies had a faster response time than men with low alcohol expectancies. There was also a significant difference for men with high alcohol expectancies versus women with high alcohol expectancies. Study findings suggest a need to target cognitions pertinent to the hazardous drinking to facilitate treatment progress.