Literature Review and Hypothesis

Name Saint Leo University

Abstract

Stress is an unavoidable part of most jobs in America and the popular method of dealing with this stress is drinking alcohol. This coping mechanism is considered maladaptive and can cause problems down line ranging from general alcohol-related health problems to job performance issues (Vasse, 1998). The potential side-effects do not seem to deter individuals from drinking their stress away as studies have found that when an employee is experiencing an elevated level of stress that drink more or want to drink more (Liu, Wang, Zhan, & Shi, 2009) however not all research has found a significant relationship between drinking and stress levels (Crutzen, Knibbe & Mysyuk, 2010). The purpose of the present study would focus on a specific age group in the work force, namely young adults, and their drinking in relation to work stress.

Keywords: alcohol, young adults, work stress, coping mechanisms

Alcohol and Work Stress in Young Adults

For many Americans, stress in the workplace is just an unpleasant fact. This work stress keeps building until the day of retirement and can lead to a variety of health problems (Vasse, 1998). Because of the potential impact stress can have on a person’s health, the development of stress coping mechanisms is important for working adults. The ways in which people cope with an ever-increasing amount of stress vary in effectiveness and in the consequences to people suffering from stress (Sher, Bartholow, Peuser, Erickson, & Wood, 2007). A common coping mechanism suggested and used by the general public is drinking alcohol to quell the stress, an idea that has existed in popular culture for thousands of years and has been the subject of scientific investigation for more than half a century (Sher et al., 2007). This idea is in line with tension-reduction theories that state that alcohol does have the potential to reduce stress-related tension (Peterson & Wilson, 2004). Despite this general agreement concerning alcohol’s stress relieving properties, research indicates great variation in the extent to which drinkers actually use alcohol as a way to deal with negative circumstances or distressing emotions (Armeli, 2005).

In a 2002 study conducted by the US Department of Health and Human Services, rates of current alcohol use were 61.8% for full-time employed adults aged 18 or older in 2002 (SAMHSA, 2003). Based on this data, the majority of America’s workforce drinks alcohol, however, the motives behind the drinks could cause problems down the line. According to Vasse (1998), drinking to cope is considered a maladaptive coping behavior because it can result in more severe alcohol-related problems including an alcohol dependency. Some studies conducted on alcohol as a stress relief have shown that those who admit to drinking as a means to cope with and escape their stress are at greatest risk of increasing their alcohol consumption over time (Leino, Eskelinen, Summala, & Virtanen, 2011). This could be linked do needing to increase based on a response to specific levels of stress or due to the development of a dependency on alcohol (Leino et al., 2011).

Now the question remains, is there a correlation between stress levels and alcohol use? A study was conducted with Chinese workers to investigate this potential correlation and found that stress was significantly related to an employee's desire to drink and their daily alcohol use (Liu, Wang, Zhan & Shi, 2009). The employees in the study admitted to drinking or wanting to drink more on what they considered high stress workdays than on days they considered low stress (Liu et al., 2009). Furthermore, a study conducted by Ayer, Harder, Rose, and Helzer (2011) found similar links to alcohol use and stress with some variance between the genders. They found that men were more likely to increase their alcohol consumption as a reaction to stress than women, while women were more likely to feel a decrease in stress following a night of drinking than men (Ayer, Harder, Rose, & Helzer, 2011).

Research has pointed to several reasons why individuals may turn to alcohol. It is well known that alcohol is a depressant that reduces inhibitions and dulls the nervous system thus bringing about a calmer state of being (Field & Quigley, 2009). Previous studies expand beyond this and indicate that people who drink as a means of coping with stress do so often in the absence of stable social support (Pohorecky, 1991). The documented stress-response-dampening effects of alcohol show that decreased sustained attention occurs when drinking alcohol thus decreasing feelings of stress (Sher et al., 2007).

Despite the aforementioned research demonstrating that there are significant interactions between alcohol and stress in the workplace, other research shows contradicting results. For example, Crutzen, Knibbe, and Mysyuk (2010) conducted an experiment to investigate to what extent drinking motives moderate the possible effect of stress on alcohol use and its related problems. They were unable to find significant data to show an interaction between one’s stress and drinking motives suggesting that a person’s drinking motives do not moderate the effect of stress on alcohol use (Crutzen et al., 2010). Research by Vasse (1998) also found no direct associations between work stressors and an employee’s alcohol consumption.

A limitation found while reviewing previous studies was the lack of research regarding young adult workers and their alcohol consumption. While there have been numerous studies into alcohol use and working adults, there has been little research into the younger workforce and their drinking habits which could yield new theories in the relationship between alcohol and stress. Young adults, aged 18 to 25, already have a higher prevalence of binge and heavy drinking (SAMHSA, 2003) and employment among young adults stood at 59% in the American Community Surveys for 2009 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). These statistics show the potential for having a young adult workforce that drinks. Further examining their motives for drinking could shed new light into the early development of the drinking when stressed coping mechanism.

Purpose of the Present Study

Extensive research examining alcohol and stress has emphasized that there is cause to believe a relationship between alcohol use and stress exists however; the strength of the relationship needs further research. There is significant evidence that those who work have a tendency to drink more than those unemployed, and that young adults have a higher tendency to engage in binge and heavy drinking behavior (SAMHSA, 2003). Taking this into account, the purpose of the present study is to determine if stress levels at work predict drinking behavior in young adults specifically. It is predicted that young adults undergoing a significant increase in stress at work are more likely to binge drink or drink heavier than their non-stressed peers. It is also hypothesized that of those young adults who drink to cope with stress, the ones who work under a constant high level of stress would be more likely to be moderate to heavy drinkers than those typically working in a low stress environment. The theory being that a stressed individual who drinks to relieve stress would want to maintain a certain level of alcohol use to control their stress levels.

If there is strong enough support, the research could have potential applications to programs designed to aid young workers in developing stress coping mechanisms that do not rely on the use of alcohol. The research could also be used to predict those most at risk for developing this coping mechanism. By targeting those most at risk, preventative measures could be created to curb the alcohol use before it becomes problematic.

References

Armeli, S. (2005). A daily process approach to individual differences in stress-related alcohol use. Journal of Personality, 73(6), 1657-1686.

Ayer, L. A., Harder, V. S., Rose, G. L., & Helzer, J. E. (2011). Drinking and stress: An examination of sex and stressor differences using IVR-based daily data. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 115(3), 205-212. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.10.022

Crutzen, R., Knibbe, R. A., & Mysyuk, Y. (2010). Unravelling the role of drinking motives in the relationship between stress and alcohol use and its related problems. Mental Health and Substance Use: Dual Diagnosis, 3(1), 38-46. doi:10.1080/17523280903507671

Field, M., & Quigley, M. (2009). Mild stress increases attentional bias in social drinkers who drink to cope: A replication and extension. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 17(5), 312-319. doi:10.1037/a0017090

Leino, T., Eskelinen, K., Summala, H., & Virtanen, M. (2011). Work-related violence, debriefing and increased alcohol consumption among police officers. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 13(2), 149-157. doi:10.1350/ijps.2011.13.2.229

Liu, S., Wang, M., Zhan, Y., & Shi, J. (2009). Daily work stress and alcohol use: Testing the cross-level moderation effects of neuroticism and job involvement. Personnel Psychology, 62(3), 575-597. Retrieved from Ebscohost.

Peterson, M., & Wilson, J. F. (2004). Work stress in America. International Journal of Stress Management, 11(2), 91-113. doi:10.1037/1072-5245.11.2.91

Pohorecky, L.A. (1991) Stress and alcohol interaction: An update of human research. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 15(3),438-459.

Sher, K. J., Bartholow, B. D., Peuser, K., Erickson, D. J., & Wood, M. D. (2007). Stress-response-dampening effects of alcohol: Attention as a mediator and moderator. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(2), 362-377. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.116.2.362

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2003). Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NHSDA Series H-22, DHHS Publication No. SMA 03–3836). Rockville, MD.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). American Community Surveys, 2008 and 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acsbr09-9.pdf.

Vasse, R. G. (1998). Associations between work stress, alcohol consumption and sickness absence.  Addiction,  93(2), 231-241