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Social Anxiety and Alcohol-Related Problems: A Comparison Between College Students and Post-College Young Adults

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posted on 2023-09-07, 05:09 authored by Frances Rekrut

A preponderance of research has explored the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems in college students often with a focus on the role of motivation for drinking, consumption levels, and alcohol-related outcome expectancies as factors in the relationship. Yet, to date, very limited research has explored whether co-morbidity between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems persist in older, post-college young adults or whether the factors that influence that relationship in college students persist in a post-college environment. The current study measured social anxiety, alcohol consumption, motives, expectations, related problems, and convivial drinking events in a sample of college students (18-22 year old) and post-college young adults (26-35 years old) as well as explored whether a unified model of the relationship could be found in either or both groups. Results indicated greater social anxiety in the college aged group and few differences in alcohol-related factors between groups. No relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems was found in the college student group, while in the post-college young adult group, coping motives served as a suppressor to that relationship with gender moderating that mediation. Exploratory analysis revealed when controlling for age, gender moderated the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems through coping motives. These results may provide further evidence of the complexity of the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems as well as the importance of accounting for other factors, such as gender and age, when conceptualizing risk and treatment.

History

Publisher

American University

Language

English

Notes

Degree Awarded: Ph.D. Psychology. American University

Handle

http://hdl.handle.net/1961/auislandora:68583

Degree grantor

American University. Department of Psychology

Degree level

  • Doctoral

Submission ID

11081

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