An experimental investigation of peer rejection and social anxiety on alcohol and cannabis use willingness: Accounting for social contexts and use cues in the laboratory.

Abstract

Objective: Evidence suggests that social anxiety (SA) is a risk factor for problematic alcohol and cannabis use, particularly during states of social stress. Unfortunately, laboratory studies to date have overlooked decisionmaking mechanisms (e.g., use willingness) and contextual features of commonly used social stress tasks that may clarify what is driving these links. The current study begins to address this gap by testing the effects of SA and laboratory-induced peer rejection on acute alcohol and cannabis use willingness within a simulated party setting. Method: 80 emerging adults (18-25 years; 70% women) endorsing lifetime alcohol and cannabis use were randomly assigned to experience rejection or neutral social cues. They rated their willingness to use alcohol and cannabis before and after cue exposure within the simulated party. A hierarchical regression tested the main and interaction effects of SA symptoms and experimental condition (Rejection vs. Neutral) on alcohol and cannabis use willingness, controlling for past-year use frequency and willingness to accept any offers (e.g., food and nonalcoholic drinks). Results: There were statistically significant main (but not interaction) effects of SA and experimental condition on cannabis use willingness. Higher SA and Rejection exposure were each associated with greater cannabis use willingness. There were neither main nor interaction effects on alcohol willingness. Conclusions: Results suggest that elevated SA increases cannabis use willingness across social contexts, regardless of Rejection exposure, while Rejection exposure increases use willingness similarly across levels of SA. Together, findings reinforce the need to consider social-contextual factors and polysubstance use in laboratory settings. Public Health Significance StatementSubstance use often occurs in social settings where multiple substances are available; because socially anxious individuals are hypersensitive to social cues, this study reinforces the need to carefully model individual-and context-level interactions on substance use risk in laboratory-based designs. Specifically, findings suggest that in social settings where both alcohol and cannabis are available, experiencing rejection increases vulnerability for cannabis use, but not alcohol use. Findings also suggest that young adults with elevated social anxiety (SA) are more willing to use cannabis in social situations, even without experiencing rejection or elevated anxiety symptoms.

The impact of social exclusion on impulsive buying behaviour of consumers on online platforms: Samples from China

“…All of these hinder the development of relationships and the search for belonging, negatively affecting individuals in many ways. The effects of social exclusion include emotional, behavioural, and physiological aspects, and most of the effects are negative [ 1 , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] ]. First, social exclusion can trigger a wide range of negative emotions [ 33 ], such as anger, anxiety, sadness, and social distress [ 34 , 35 ].…”