A study of adult gay men showed that discrimination experiences predicted alcohol problems only among men whose cognitions (i.e., tension reduction expectancies) made them vulnerable to alcohol misuse (McKirnan & Peterson, 1988). Whereas this study examined moderation, a longitudinal study of LGB young adults and their heterosexual peers found that positive alcohol expectancies mediated the relationship between sexual orientation and alcohol use, both for men and women (Hatzenbuehler, Corbin, & Fromme, 2008a). Although this study suggests that expectancies may be one mechanism accounting for the stress-alcohol use association among sexual minorities, specific stigma-related stressors were not assessed. A nationally representative study of adolescents also found elevated alcohol expectancies among LGB youth relative to heterosexuals; however, controlling for alcohol expectancies (along with other general psychological processes) reduced the relation between sexual orientation and alcohol outcomes only for girls (Ziyadeh et al., 2007).
