Perceptions of excessive alcohol consumption in stressful and nonstressful situations among undergraduates.

We devised and administered the Alcohol Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ) to 56 male and 51 female undergraduates in a small midwestern university. Findings yielded statistically significant results between the level of alcohol consumption reported by the subjects and their perceptions of excessive drinking in interpersonal situations, social group situations, and under conditions of subjective stress. The greater the amount of personal alcohol consumption among the sample, the less likely they viewed excessive drinking as a problem. In addition, subjects from lower income environments viewed excessive drinking in general as a problem, whereas subjects from higher income environments viewed excessive drinking as no problem at all.