Results of these correlational analyses indicate that the SHAS is most strongly correlated with the sedative effects of alcohol (BAES, sedation), although it is also moderately correlated with alcohol-induced stimulation (BAES, stimulation), which is in turn consistent with the notion that the SHAS contains both positive and negative adjectives related to alcohol’s subjective effects. Conversely, the BAES stimulation subscale was most strongly associated with vigor and positive mood, whereas its association with the sedation subscale was small and non-significant. Interestingly, the BAES stimulation subscale was the strongest predictor of urge to drink alcohol, accounting for approximately 36% of the variance in self-reported urge. Similar relationships among these assessments of the subjective effects of alcohol were recently reported in an independent sample of hazardous drinkers (Ray et al., 2007) and in previous studies where indexes of vigor and physiological reactivity were inversely related to SHAS scores (Conrod, Peterson, & Pihl, 2001). Taken together, these findings highlight the need for further research on the optimal conceptualization and assessment of the construct of subjective responses to alcohol. Such research is critical in order
