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

Abstract

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.

Examining the factor structure of the Motives for Playing Drinking Games measure among Australian university students

“…There has been recent growth in DGs research among university students outside the USA [3,4,9,18], although Australian research remains limited. However, further research designed to validate this measure with young adults in other parts of the globe where DGs are common is warranted.…”

“…However, further research designed to validate this measure with young adults in other parts of the globe where DGs are common is warranted. More recently, a study of 227 student drinkers aged 18-24 years found that the majority (63%) played DGs at least 'some of the time' when consuming alcohol [3]. A 2007 study of 256 university student drinkers aged 18-25 years identified that 68% of Australian university students had played a DG in the prior 6 months [5].…”

“…However, further research designed to validate this measure with young adults in other parts of the globe where DGs are common is warranted. There has been recent growth in DGs research among university students outside the USA [3,4,9,18], although Australian research remains limited. A 2007 study of 256 university student drinkers aged 18-25 years identified that 68% of Australian university students had played a DG in the prior 6 months [5].…”

“…A 2007 study of 256 university student drinkers aged 18-25 years identified that 68% of Australian university students had played a DG in the prior 6 months [5]. More recently, a study of 227 student drinkers aged 18-24 years found that the majority (63%) played DGs at least 'some of the time' when consuming alcohol [3]. This suggests that DG participation is common among Australian university students.…”

“…Drinking games (DG) encourage alcohol consumption according to rules that specify how much and when to drink, with players performing mental/motor tasks [1]. Most research highlighting the prevalence of DG participation among university students has been conducted among US college samples [2], however, research suggests that DG participation is also common among Australian university students [3][4][5]. Given the popularity of DGs among university students in different parts of the globe, and their associations with rapid alcohol consumption and negative consequences [5][6][7][8][9], investigations to better understand the reasons why students play DGs are warranted.…”