Abstract

Aims

Alcohol use follows a developmental trajectory—steadily increasing and peaking in the early stages of emerging adulthood (e.g. first year of university) and declining thereafter. While most individuals ‘mature out’ of problem drinking as they move through emerging adulthood, some continue to drink heavily and experience serious problems. Tension reduction theory identifies social anxiety (SA) as a potential risk factor for problem drinking during emerging adulthood. However, mixed data suggest that the associations between SA and drinking behaviours are not straightforward. Cross-sectional studies demonstrate that socially anxious emerging adults are at risk for problem drinking, but only if they are also high in trait impulsivity. This study aimed to expand on previous work by examining trait impulsivity as moderator of the prospective associations between SA and maturing out of problem drinking in emerging adulthood.

Methods

Undergraduates (N = 302) completed online self-reports at regular intervals (6-months) over an 18-month period, resulting in four waves of data.

Results

Unconditional latent growth curve models indicated that alcohol problems (but not use) declined linearly over time. Next, conditional growth curve models revealed that SA was associated with impeded maturing out of alcohol problems, but this effect was only present in socially anxious participants with high levels of trait impulsivity.

Conclusion

Our study advances growing literature on the crucial moderating role that impulsivity plays in the SA pathway to problem drinking. Clinical interventions for problem drinking among socially anxious students should both assess for and target concurrent impulsivity.

中文翻译：

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性格冲动阻碍社交焦虑的大学生摆脱酗酒问题

摘要

宗旨

酒精使用遵循一个发展轨迹——在成年初期（例如大学第一年）稳步增加并达到顶峰，然后下降。虽然大多数人在进入成年期时会因酗酒问题而“成熟”，但有些人会继续大量饮酒并遇到严重的问题。减压理论将社交焦虑 (SA) 确定为成年期饮酒问题的潜在风险因素。然而，混合数据表明 SA 与饮酒行为之间的关联并不简单。横断面研究表明，社交焦虑的新兴成年人有饮酒问题的风险，但前提是他们的特质冲动性也很高。

方法

本科生 ( N  = 302) 在 18 个月内定期（6 个月）完成在线自我报告，产生四波数据。

结果

无条件潜在增长曲线模型表明酒精问题（但不是使用）随时间线性下降。接下来，条件增长曲线模型显示，SA 与酒精问题导致的成熟受阻有关，但这种影响仅存在于具有高水平特质冲动的社交焦虑参与者中。

结论

我们的研究推动了越来越多关于冲动在导致饮酒问题的 SA 途径中发挥的关键调节作用的文献。针对社交焦虑学生饮酒问题的临床干预措施应同时评估和针对并发冲动。