In very global terms, the subjective effects of alcohol can be conceptualized in two broad domains, namely reinforcing (positively and negative) and punishing (aversive). However, these effects are not necessarily orthogonal to one another and may be concomitantly experienced to varying degrees within a single drinking episode. In order to empirically address the interrelationships among assessments of subjective intoxication used in alcohol administration studies, Table 1 presents previously unpublished data on the correlations among the SHAS, BAES, POMS and urge to drink (measured by the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire; AUQ, Bohn et al., 1995; MacKillop, 2006). These assessments were administered in the context of an intravenous alcohol administration study (n = 49; 23 women) of hazardous college drinkers. Pearson product-moment correlations are presented for the assessment point in which the target Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) was 0.06 (for details see Ray et al., 2006).
