Research consistently documents the negative effects of work-family conflict; however, little focuses on alcohol use. This study embraces a tension-reduction theory of drinking, wherein alcohol use is thought to reduce the negative effects of stress. The purpose of the present study was to test a moderated mediation model of the relationship between work-family conflict and alcohol use in a Chicagoland community sample of 998 caregivers. Structural equation models showed that distress mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and alcohol use. Furthermore, tension reduction expectancies of alcohol exacerbated the relationship between distress and alcohol use. The results advance the study of work-family conflict and alcohol use, helping explain this complicated relationship using sophisticated statistical techniques. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
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