Stress, escapism and patterns of alcohol and drug use.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A questionnaire containing items about stress related to job or life events and items about drinking, drug use and personal meanings of use was completed by 238 teachers, 67 factory workers and 65 nurses (the average age of the subjects was 36; 51% were women). Misuse of alcohol or drugs was related to higher stress, to positive attitudes toward use and to a marked decline in the importance of reasons for abstinence or controlled use. Stress-related misuse of alcohol or drugs is impulsive and may reflect conflict, learned helplessness or an attempt to reduce cognitive dissonance.