Tension Reduction Motives

Researchers have recognized personal enjoyment, social pressure, and tension reduction as major domains of drinking motives, which are related to different aspects of alcohol use (Kuntsche et al., 2005). Personal enjoyment motive was more strongly coupled with heavy drinking, while social motives such as peer behavior and workplace dynam¬ics were identified to be related with lighter drinking patterns predominantly among young alcohol users (Aharonovich et al., 2008). Also, tension reduction motives were found to be associated to solitary drinking (Aharonovich et al., 2008).