Alcohol use, cognitive correlates of drinking and change readiness in hazardous drinkers with high versus low social anxiety.

Abstract

Prevalence data and theoretical models suggest that socially anxious individuals comprise a significant subset of college hazardous drinkers and may benefit from brief interventions for both alcohol and social anxiety problems. The present study compared hazardous drinkers who have high social anxiety (HD-HSA) with hazardous drinkers who have low social anxiety (HD-LSA) in drinking and psychological characteristics that may distinguish the two drinker groups and inform development of group-specific interventions. After completing a self-report assessment battery, 152 hazardous drinkers (51% men, median age = 19) were selected from an undergraduate volunteer sample on the basis of their scores on an alcohol screen. HD-HSA (n = 76) and HD-LSA (n = 76) were hazardous drinkers who scored in the top third and the bottom third, respectively, of the volunteer sample on a social anxiety measure. HD-HSA reported greater expectancies that alcohol reduces social anxiety and lower alcohol refusal self-efficacy in social drinking situations than HD-LSA did. HD-HSA also tended to report more frequent heavy drinking in negative affect situations, but the groups did not differ in consumption quantity, heavy drinking in positive affect situations or hazardous drinking levels. HD-HSA reported greater interest in attending a social anxiety workshop and showed a trend towards having stronger interest in an alcohol workshop than HD-LSA did, although the sample's overall readiness to change alcohol behaviors was low. Study findings highlight the importance of situational specificity in alcohol assessment and suggest a need to develop group-specific interventions for college hazardous drinkers with high versus low social anxiety.