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Testing the specificity between social anxiety disorder and drinking motives
Michael Windle1, Rebecca C Windle
1Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. mwindle@emory.edu
Addictive Behaviors
|May 26, 2012
Summary
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) specifically predicts coping drinking motives in young adulthood. This relationship persists even when accounting for adolescent substance use, other mental health conditions, and drinking motivations.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Addiction Medicine
Background:
- Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is frequently comorbid with alcohol use disorders.
- Understanding the specific links between SAD and drinking motives is crucial for etiology and treatment.
- Coping drinking motives are hypothesized to play a significant role in self-medication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the specificity of the association between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and coping drinking motives.
- To differentiate the SAD-coping motive link from enhancement and social drinking motives.
- To control for adolescent risk factors and young adult psychiatric comorbidities.
Main Methods:
- Prospective longitudinal study of 717 high school students followed into young adulthood.
- Assessment of adolescent substance use, risk factors, and young adult psychiatric diagnoses (SAD, MDD, other anxiety disorders).
- Measurement of drinking motives (coping, enhancement, social) at multiple young adult time points.
Main Results:
- Social anxiety disorder (SAD) was specifically associated with coping drinking motives in young adulthood.
- This association remained significant after controlling for adolescent alcohol use, prior coping motives, and other mental health disorders.
- Adolescent factors, major depressive disorder, and other anxiety disorders also predicted young adult drinking motives.
Conclusions:
- Coping drinking motives appear to be a specific correlate of social anxiety disorder (SAD).
- Drinking motives, particularly coping motives, may play a functional role (e.g., self-medication) in the development of alcohol problems.
- Findings support targeted prevention and treatment interventions focusing on SAD and coping-related drinking behaviors.
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