Are there social benefits? Exploring the role of positive consequences in the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and negative drinking consequences

Abstract

Research has shown that college students with social anxiety experience more alcohol-related negative consequences, regardless of the amount of alcohol they consume. To better understand this relationship, it is important to examine social anxiety as a multidimensional construct, as well as explore the positive outcomes these students experience from drinking. The current study sought to examine the impact of positive drinking consequences on the relationship between behavioral (i.e. interaction and performance-type) and cognitive (i.e. fear of negative evaluation) social anxiety symptoms and alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 544 traditional age college students who reported consuming alcohol in the past month and completed measures of social anxiety symptoms, positive drinking consequences, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Positive drinking consequences moderated the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related negative consequences, such that students with more fear of negative evaluation and that experienced more positive drinking consequences reported more negative drinking consequences. Future directions and implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• College students
• alcohol use
• social anxiety
• positive consequences
• negative consequences

Notes

1 Hierarchical regression analysis with the female sample only was conducted, but no differences emerged in the findings. Further, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted with weekly alcohol consumption as the outcome, however no direct relationships were found between the three social anxiety constructs and weekly alcohol use, which support the inclusion of alcohol use as a control variable.