Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Drinking Motives In Social Anxiety And Alcohol Use, Lindsay S. Ham, Michel Bonin, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

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 …