Relations of social anxiety variables to drinking motives, drinking quantity and frequency, and alcohol-related problems in undergraduates

Abstract

Background: The co-morbidity between social phobia and alcohol disorder is well established. Aims: This study investigated the nature of the relationship between traits associated with these disorders. Method: A total of 157 undergraduate drinkers (112 women; 45 men) completed measures tapping aspects of social phobia (i.e., the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale and the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation scale) and drinking behavior (i.e., the Drinking Motives Questionnaire -Revised, quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption, and the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index). Results: Correlational analyses (controlling for gender) revealed that: (i) social avoidance and distress was significantly negatively related to drinking frequency; (ii) fear of negative evaluation and social avoidance and distress were both significantly positively related to drinking to cope with negative emotions and to conform to peer pressure; and (iii) fear of negative evaluation was also significantly positively related to drinking to socialize and to drinking problems. The relationship between fear of negative evaluation and drinking problems was mediated by coping and conformity drinking motives. Conclusions: Implications for developing effective integrated treatments for co-occurring social anxiety and alcohol problems are discussed, as are preventative implications.

Examining the Relation Between the Fear of Negative Evaluation and the Anxiety for Social Appearance in Folk Dancers

“…Similar to the results of the present study, in general, studies conducted so far in the literature report that the fear of negative evaluation varies according to the gender variable (Stewart, Morris, Mellings, & Komar, 2006;Ketra, 2012;Bremser, 2012;Karademir, 2015). Çepikkurt and Coşkun (2010) conducted a study and investigated the social physical anxiety levels of university dancers, and reported that there was a significant difference between the females and males.…”

Alcohol-induced risky sexual behavior among socially anxious drinkers

“…First, data add to prior work (Schry & White, 2013) indicating that HSA undergraduates may experience significantly more frequent alcohol-induced risky sexual behaviors and consequences than LSA undergraduates. Second, the current study adds to a growing corpus of work finding social anxiety to be more related to coping-motivated drinking (Buckner et al, 2006;Ham et al, 2007;Ham, Zamboanga, Bacon, & Garcia, 2009;Lewis et al, 2008;Norberg et al, 2010;Stewart et al, 2006;Terlecki & Buckner, 2015). The current study extends this knowledge base by showing that coping-motivated drinking is related to more frequent alcohol-influenced risky sexual behaviors and consequences among HSA persons.…”

“…The literature suggests that social anxiety is related to drinking in situations involving negative affect (Buckner, Eggleston, & Schmidt, 2006;Terlecki & Buckner, 2015) and to more coping-motivated drinking (Blumenthal, Leen-Feldner, Frala, Badour, & Ham, 2010;Buckner & Shah, 2015;Ham, Bonin, & Hope, 2007;Lewis, Hove, Whiteside, Lee, Kirkeby et al, 2008;Norberg, Norton, Olivier, & Zvolensky, 2010;Stewart, Morris, Mellings, & Komar, 2006;Terlecki & Buckner, 2015). Furthermore, drinking to cope with negative affectivity is thought to reinforce regular use of alcohol (Sher & Levenson, 1982), resulting in elevated blood alcohol levels and alcohol tolerance (Weiss & Porrino, 2002), which are symptoms of alcohol use disorder (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013).…”

Friends or Foes: Social Anxiety, Peer Affiliation, and Drinking in Middle School

“…Some research suggests strong associations between social anxiety and alcohol use in both adolescents and adults (Buckner et al, 2006;Burke and Stephens, 1999;Stewart et al, 2006). In these studies, social anxiety is seen as a risk factor for the development of problematic alcohol use.…”