Intoxication and self-orientations during alcohol use: an empirical assessment of the relationship and of its determinants among employed men and women.

Analysis of data from a survey of employed adults in Detroit indicates that frequency of intoxication is associated with a masculine self-orientation among men and a feminine self-orientation among women during alcohol use. The study calls attention to the importance of fathers' drinking, life events, social class relations and a generalized alienation from self, work and society for understanding frequency of intoxication and masculine and feminine orientations during alcohol use. A path analysis suggests that the men and women who become intoxicated may regain a sense of self and relationships to others that they do not have in sober everyday life. Implications for future research on heavy drinking and self-orientations during alcohol use are discussed.