Alcoholic beverage preference as a public statement: self-concept and social image of college drinkers.

Several studies have indicated that drinking-driving violation rates differ significantly across beverage preference groups. In an effort to assess beverage-specific alcohol expectancies, surveys of 120 college students probed self-concept, drinker stereotypes, beverage preference and quantity-frequency of alcohol consumption. The results revealed sharply differentiated social stereotypes for hypothetical drinkers of various alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. Beverage preference groups differed little in self-concept except that men who preferred beer or mixed drinks rated themselves as more drunk than did men who preferred wine or nonalcoholic beverages. Combining all beverage preference groups, heavier drinkers rated themselves more positively and they rated male nondrinkers more negatively on most dimensions than did lighter drinkers. Support was found for some, but not all, extrapolations from consistency theory and enhancement theory in predicting beverage choice.