Social anxiety and alcohol use: examining the relationships among social anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and alcohol-related variables

Abstract

Socially anxious undergraduates tend to report more alcohol-related problems despite consuming less alcohol than non-anxious counterparts. The present study aimed to clarify this paradox by examining the roles of anxiety sensitivity, motives for drinking and cognitive/behavioural factors proposed to maintain social anxiety (SA): rumination, post-event processing, anticipatory processing, self-focused attention, and safety behaviours.