Social anxiety evidences significant comorbidity with alcohol use disorders and alcohol-related problems.
In an effort to better understand this co-occurrence, researchers are beginning to evaluate specific drinking-related factors, including alcohol use motives, among socially anxious individuals.
Drawing on Cooper's (1994) 4-factor model of drinking motives (enhancement, social, conformity, coping), a growing body of work suggests that socially anxious individuals may consume alcohol in an effort to cope with their anxious symptoms; however, no study to date has examined these relations among youth. Accordingly, we examined alcohol use motives as a function of social anxiety in a community-based sample of 50 adolescents ages 12 to 17 years (Mage = 16.35, SD = 1.10).
As predicted, heightened social anxiety was associated with elevated coping-related drinking motives. More important, other alcohol-use motives did not vary as a function of social anxiety.
Collectively, these findings uniquely extend research conducted with adults, and suggest socially anxious youth may be motivated to use alcohol to manage their anxious arousal.
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