Alcohol dependence and humor styles

This study explores the relationship between alcohol dependence and humor styles based on a large data set of 2752 adults. Participants completed a humor styles questionnaire, assessing four dimensions: affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating. Participants also completed a telephone survey assessing their lifetime use and problems with alcohol. The survey classified individuals as meeting or failing to meet the DSM-IV definition of alcohol dependence. Logistic regression analyses in predicting alcohol dependence categorization resulted in a 95.6% correct classification and two significant predictors: being a man and aggressive humor style scores. These results show that those who characteristically engage in an aggressive humor style, are more likely to meet the criteria for alcohol dependence.