Effects of infant cries on alcohol consumption in college males at risk for child abuse

This analog study examines the effect of hearing a child's cries on alcohol consumption, comprising one link in a possible association between drinking and child abuse. Thirty-two male undergraduate volunteers were preselected by age, drinking practices, and abuse potential. Subjects were assigned to either a high or low abuse potential group and were then randomly assigned to hear either an infant cry or a smoke alarm. Blood pressure was measured during each of three stimulus presentations. Following each presentation, the subject was asked to rate the stimulus on a number of different dimensions (e.g., soothing-arousing). Additionally all subjects participated in a subsequent taste-rating task as an unobtrusive measure of alcohol consumption. The results indicate that, regardless of risk group, subjects who listened to the infant cry consumed significantly more alcohol (M = 206 ml, SD = 126.43) during the taste-rating task than did those who heard only the smoke alarm (M = 95.68 ml, SD = 62.94) which was also rated as aversive. There was no relationship between abuse potential and alcohol consumption. Although diastolic blood pressure did not differ between groups, analysis of the infant rating scales revealed that, regardless of risk group, subjects who heard the infant cry reported feeling more aversion, arousal, and distress, than did those who heard the smoke alarm. These results lend additional support to studies depicting the infant cry as a stressful and aversive event, capable of eliciting increased drinking. Implications for arousal reduction by alcohol and a model of alcohol-induced child abuse are discussed.