Social anxiety and heavy situational drinking: coping and conformity motives as multiple mediators.
INTRODUCTION
Individuals with clinically elevated social anxiety are at greater risk for alcohol use disorder, and the relation between social anxiety and drinking problems is at least partially accounted for by drinking more in negative emotional (e.g., feeling sad or angry) and personal/intimate (e.g., before sexual intercourse) situations. Identification of cognitive/motivational factors related to drinking in these high-risk situations could inform the development of treatment and prevention interventions for these high-risk drinkers.


METHOD
The current cross-sectional study examined the mediating effect of drinking motives on the relationship between social anxiety and drinking these high-risk situations among undergraduates (N=232).


RESULTS
Clinically elevated social anxiety was associated with greater coping and conformity motives. Both coping and conformity motives mediated the relation between social anxiety and heavier alcohol consumption in negative emotional and personal/intimate contexts.


CONCLUSIONS
Multiple mediation analyses indicated that these motives work additively to mediate the social anxiety-drinking situations relationship, such that heavy situational drinking among undergraduates with clinically elevated social anxiety can be jointly attributed to desire to cope with negative affect and to avoid social scrutiny.
['Terlecki|Meredith A|MA|', 'Buckner|Julia D|JD|']
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological D000293:Adolescent D000428:Alcohol Drinking D000437:Alcoholism D001007:Anxiety D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D009042:Motivation D010698:Phobic Disorders D012919:Social Behavior D012925:Social Conformity D013334:Students D055815:Young Adult
Social anxiety Drinking problems Drinking motives College drinking Drinking context