title: The motive to drink due to social anxiety and its relation to hazardous alcohol use.
abstract: Although studies on social anxiety and alcohol-related problems are numerous, the exact nature of the relationship remains unclear. In the present study, we investigate how the motive to drink due to social anxiety is associated with hazardous alcohol use over and above habitual alcohol use, social anxiety, and alcohol outcome expectancies. We also examine which factors define the motive to drink due to social anxiety and clarify the impact of the type of social situation. Drinking due to social anxiety, habitual alcohol use, and gender, but not social anxiety, were associated with hazardous alcohol use. Social anxiety increased the motive to drink due to social anxiety, but fear of cognitive performance deficits after drinking reduced it. Alcohol was used to reduce anxiety more frequently in situations where intake of alcohol is deemed socially acceptable. These findings suggest that the motive drinking due to social anxiety, not social anxiety per se, is related to hazardous alcohol use. The motive is weakened by the expectation of alcohol-induced cognitive deficits, as well as by the type of social situation in which alcohol is to be used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cludius
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen.
authors.forename: Trisha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bantin
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne.
authors.forename: Alexander L
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6794-5349
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gerlach
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen.
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hermann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult