Social anxiety and drinking game participation among university students: the moderating role of drinking to cope

Background: Few studies have examined the relationship of social anxiety with drinking game participation. Drinking games represent a popular form of drinking in university settings. Due to their structure, games may appeal to socially anxious drinkers, particularly among those seeking to fit in or cope with the social setting. Objectives: To examine the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation among a university undergraduate sample and to investigate if drinking motives moderate this association. Method: A total of 227 undergraduate students aged 18–24 years (73% female) who had consumed alcohol in the prior year were included in the current investigation. Hierarchical regression examined the influences of social anxiety and drinking motives on frequency of drinking game participation, as well the interactions of social anxiety with drinking for coping motives and conformity motives. Results: Social anxiety failed to emerge as a significant predictor of frequency of drinking game participation. However, drinking to cope moderated the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation. Socially anxious students who drank to cope were more likely to participate in drinking games on occasions when they consumed alcohol than those who did not endorse this drinking motive. Conclusion: Results demonstrated the influence of drinking to cope in the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation. Future work should examine the relationship with other indicators of drinking game activity. Intervention efforts addressing social anxiety and drinking should consider motives for drinking, as well as drinking patterns.