Anxiety sensitivity and alcohol use motives

Abstract

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS; fear of anxiety symptoms) and alcohol use motives. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Subscale (STAI-T), and the Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ) were administered to 314 university students. Higher ASI scores were found to be significantly associated with greater scores on the Coping Motives (CM) subscale of the DMQ, particularly in the female subjects. In contrast, ASI scores were not found to be related in a linear fashion to scores on either the Enhancement Motives (EM) or Social Motives (SM) subscales of the DMQ. A regression equation involving a weighted linear combination of scores on the ASI and STAI-T significantly predicted scores on the CM subscale of the DMQ; the regression equation was significantly better at predicting the frequency of coping-related drinking in women than men. When “primary” motives were examined, a significantly greater percentage of high than low AS subjects (particularly high AS women) were found to drink primarily for coping-related motives, and a significantly greater percentage of low than high AS subjects were found to drink primarily for social-affiliative motives. This pattern of drinking motives points to potential difficulties with alcohol in individuals (particularly women) who are high in both AS and trait anxiety, since drinking primarily for CM as opposed to SM has previously been shown to be associated with more drinking alone, heavier alcohol consumption, and more severe alcohol-related problems.