A construct related to alcohol expectancies is that of motives for drinking: most researchers understand motives to include both expected effects of alcohol consumption and one’s interest in achieving those effects (Cooper et al., 2008). Studies on adolescent motives for drinking suggest that alcohol consumption among African Americans appears to be rooted in regulation of negative mood (Bradizza, Reifman, & Barnes, 1999; Brannock, Schandler, & Oncley, 1990). Jones-Webb (1998) found that even though African American women were less likely to drink, stress had a direct and positive relationship with their drinking, especially for those who cope with stress primarily through avoidance. Thus, it appears to be the case that one influence on individual differences in drinking among African Americans is variation within that group in the motive to drink to cope with distress (Harper, 1999; Martin, Tuch, & Roman, 2003).
