Social anxiety and drinking

College students often drink heavily but it is not always the most confident people who are the heaviest drinkers. In fact research has found that it is often the most socially anxious students who drink the most. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati in the U.S. launched a pilot programme using motivational interviewing and behavioural therapy to help socially-anxious students curb tendencies that could lead on to hazardous drinking. At the end of the programme students reported a significant reduction in number of drinks consumed and in bouts of heavy drinking. They also reported that they were less fearful about being judged negatively by their peers and felt more confident about turning down a drink around people who were drinking.

You can read more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/11/27/social-anxiety-presages-alcohol-abuse-in-college/1579.html