4种喝酒动机(中英对照)

Personally, everyone can come up with many reasons why he or she is drinking, which makes a scientific understanding of the reasons difficult. But there is something called the motivational model of alcohol use, that argues we drink because we expect a change in how we feel after we do. Originally developed to help treat alcohol dependence, the ideas described in the model led to a new understanding of what motivates people to drink.

This results in all drinking motives falling into one of four categories: enhancement (because it’s exciting), coping (to forget about my worries), social (to celebrate), and conformity (to fit in). Drinkers can be high or low in any number of drinking motives – people are not necessarily one type of drinker or the other.

人类喝了几千年酒。但你可曾想过，自己究竟为何饮酒?从私人角度，人人都能列举出许多饮酒原因。不过，“饮酒动机模型”认为，人们之所以饮酒，是期待酒后产生的情绪变化——说白了，就是为了增加积极感受，减少消极情绪。此外，内部奖赏(如增强某种情绪状态)和外部奖赏(如社会赞许)也会促使人们饮酒。

因此，饮酒动机分为四类：增强情绪(为了兴奋)、应对处境(为了忘忧)、社交(为了庆祝)、从众(为了合群)。基因、性格、环境等因素会塑造我们的饮酒动机。人们未必只有一种饮酒动机。

1. Social drinking

To date, nearly all the research on drinking motives has been done on teens and young adults. Across cultures and countries, social motives are the most common reason young people give for drinking alcohol. In this model, social drinking may be about increasing the amount of fun you are having with your friends. This fits in with the idea that drinking is mainly a social pastime. Drinking for social motives is associated with moderate alcohol use.

1. 社交饮酒

迄今为止，在几乎所有关于饮酒动机的研究中，研究对象都是青少年和年轻人。无论哪个国家，无论何种文化，年轻人饮酒的最普遍的原因是社交需求。在这个模型中，社交饮酒是为了增加朋友聚会的乐趣。在社交饮酒中，饮酒量通常适中。

2. Drinking to conform

When people only drink on social occasions because they want to fit in – not because it’s a choice they would normally make – they drink less than those who drink mainly for other reasons. These are the people who will sip a glass of champagne for a toast, or keep a wine in their hand to avoid feeling different from the drinkers around them.

Neil Gaiman – Think AgainIn the last couple of years, programs like Hello Sunday Morning have been encouraging people to take a break from drinking. And by making this more socially acceptable, they may also be decreasing the negative feedback some people receive for not drinking, although this is a theory that needs testing.

2. 从众饮酒

有时候，人们只为合群而饮酒。相较于其它原因，这种情况的饮酒量较少——抿一小口香槟，或为避免异样而手持一杯葡萄酒。

3. Drinking for enhancement

Beyond simply drinking to socialise, there are two types of adolescents and young adults with a particular risky combination of personality and drinking motive preference.

First are those who drink for enhancement motives. They are more likely to be extroverted, impulsive, and aggressive. These young people (often male) are more likely to actively seek to feel drunk – as well as other extreme sensations – and have a risk-taking personality.

3. 为增强情绪而饮酒

有些人饮酒是为了增强情绪体验。这类人多为男性，通常比较外向、冲动、爱冒险、富有侵略性。他们更容易主动寻求喝醉的感觉，以及其它极端感受。

4. Drinking to cope

Second, those who drink mainly for coping motives have higher levels of neuroticism, low level of agreeableness and a negative view of the self. These drinkers may be using alcohol to cope with other problems in their life, particularly those related to anxiety and depression. Coping drinkers are more likely to be female, drink more heavily and experience more alcohol-related problems than those who drink for other reasons.

While it may be effective in the short term, drinking to cope with problems leads to worse long-term consequences. This may be because the problems that led to the drinking in the first place are not being addressed.

4. 为应对处境而饮酒

有些人饮酒是为了应对其它问题，尤其是焦虑、抑郁等相关问题。这类人多为女性，通常比较神经质、不太随和、消极看待自我。相较于其它饮酒原因，这种类型的饮酒者饮酒更多，酗酒问题也更多。其实，从长远角度看，喝酒解决不了问题，只会使情况越来越糟糕。

Why it matters

There is promising research that suggests knowing the motives of heavy drinkers can lead to interventions to reduce harmful drinking. For instance, one study found that tailoring counselling sessions to drinking motives decreased consumption in young women, although there was no significant decrease in men.

This research stream is limited by the fact we really only know about the drinking motives of those in their teens and early 20s. Our understanding of why adults are drinking is limited, something our research group is hoping to study in the future.

Next time you have a drink, have a think about why you are choosing to do so. There are many people out there having a drink at night to relax. But if you’re aiming to get drunk, you have a higher chance than most of experiencing harm.

饮酒动机的重要性

只有了解酗酒者的饮酒动机，才能更好地进行干预。一项研究表明，根据饮酒动机定制辅导内容能够减少女性的饮酒量——但这招对男性没用。

目前，我们只了解青少年和年轻人的饮酒动机。接下来，研究人员希望研究更多成年人。

下次喝酒前，想想自己为什么喝酒。为了买醉?很有可能伤身。为了解愁?明早醒来，烦恼依旧。