Social Anxiety, Drinking Game Motives, and Drinking Game Outcomes Among a Large Multisite Sample of University Students

Undergraduates with higher levels of social anxiety may be motivated to participate in high-risk drinking events (e.g., playing drinking games [DG]) as a way to “fit in” or facilitate socialization with peers), putting them at an elevated risk of experiencing alcohol-related negative consequences (e.g., blacking out). The present study sought to test associations between social anxiety symptoms, DG behaviors and consequences, and DG-specific motives among a large, multisite sample of undergraduates.

Participants were 7,528 undergraduate students who endorsed current (past month) drinking. Participants completed a cross-sectional, self-report survey that included measures of DG behaviors, DG motives, and DG negative consequences as part of a large, multisite observational study.

Consistent with prior work, social anxiety symptoms were negatively associated with lifetime history of DG participation. Among participants who endorsed playing DG in the past 30 days, social anxiety was not associated with DG frequency or quantity, but it was positively associated with all DG motives and cumulative negative DG consequences.

Although undergraduates with higher social anxiety levels were less likely to participate in DGs than those with lower social anxiety levels, among undergraduates who chose to participate in DGs, social anxiety was positively associated with multiple motivations to play DGs and alcohol-related consequences as a result of playing DGs.