Stressful life events (SLE) are considered a proximal trigger of drinking. The “self-medication” or tension reduction hypothesis posits that drinking behavior is reinforced through its tension- and fear-reduction properties (Cappell and Herman, 1972; Greenley and Oei, 1999; Sayette, 1999). Other theories that have sought to explain the stress/alcohol connection include the stressor-vulnerability model by Cooper and colleagues (1992) and the stress response dampening model by Sher and Levenson (1982). Empirical findings generally support a positive association between stress and increased alcohol use, but the aggregate effect is small and seems to be modified by other factors. This large literature is reviewed by Pohorecky (1991) and Veenstra and colleagues (2006).
