Psychology, Department of

 

ORCID IDs

Debra A. Hope

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2007

Citation

Journal of Anxiety Disorders 21:8 (2007), pp. 991–1003.

doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.10.014

Comments

Copyright © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. Used by permission.

Abstract

Although social anxiety and problem drinking commonly co-occur, the relationship between social anxiety and drinking among college students is not well understood. The current study examined the relationship between drinking motives, or reasons for drinking, and social anxiety in 239 volunteers. Contrary to hypotheses, high (n = 83), moderate (n = 90), and low (n = 66) social anxiety groups did not differ in endorsement of coping and conformity drinking motives. Further, social anxiety was negatively related to weekly alcohol use and unrelated to alcohol-related problems. Post hoc hierarchical multiple regression analyses conducted for each social anxiety group indicated that coping motives were related to greater alcohol use and problems for those in the high and moderate social anxiety groups but not for the low social anxiety group. It appears that drinking motives, particularly coping motives, have promise in providing a greater understanding of the social anxiety–drinking relationship. Drinking motives could aid in identification of socially anxious students at risk for alcohol problems and inform intervention strategies.

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