Table 1.

Effects of Drinking Companions’ Sexual Identity on Drinking Behavior

Theoretical explanation for SMW’s drinking behavior	Motives associated with theoretical explanation	Expected effect of drinking companions’ sexual identity on associations between motives and drinking behavior
		LGB companions	Heterosexual companions
Minority stress theory: Minority stress leads SMW to drink to modulate affect	Coping (reducing negative affect associated with minority stress) Enhancement (increasing positive affect to counteract minority stress)	Drinking ↓ less minority stress leads to less drinking to modulate affect)	Drinking ↑ (more minority stress leads to more drinking to modulate affect)
Social learning theory: Heavy drinking is normalized among LGB individuals; LGB socialization often occurs in drinking-oriented contexts	Conform (avoiding social punishment by adhering to drinking norms of setting and/or referent group) Social (gaining social reward by adhering to drinking norms of setting and/or referent group)	Drinking ↑ (More permissive LGB drinking norms and LGB socialization contexts lead to more drinking)	Drinking ↓ (More restrictive heterosexual drinking norms lead to less drinking)