The risk factors and influences of alcohol consumption among college students in the United States are continually studied and delineated as universities seek to mitigate harmful drinking in their student populations.  Upon leaving universities, many students begin drinking far less than in their undergraduate careers, presenting a phenomenon that is described as “maturing out of” harmful drinking.  However, some former students drinking behaviors are perpetuated even as they leave college life behind, incurring the potential for long-term alcohol consumption problems.  The following study analyzes the presence and absence of maturing out of alcohol in former students who report social anxiety.  More specifically it tests for moderating effects of trait impulsivity on drinking patterns in this aforementioned sub-population.   

The study’s sample was comprised of 297 students from Eastern Canadian University who completed surveys at initiation and 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months after the study began.  The surveys consisted of questionnaires which measured the following variables for each participant: social anxiety (via Social Phobia Scale), impulsivity (via the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale- Impulsivity Subscale), alcohol problems (via the Rutgers Alcohol Problem index), and alcohol use.  Latent growth curve modeling was used to test the relationships between social anxiety and impulsivity, and how these two personal characteristics influenced alcohol problems, consumption quantity, and consumption frequency. 

Results of the study found higher impulsivity was positively related to higher weekly alcohol use (p<0.001), while the associations and measures of social anxiety and impulsivity did not reliably predict alcohol usage among the sample population.  Additionally, high impulsivity, when combined with high social anxiety resulted in statistically slower decrease in alcohol problems over the 18-month period.  In contrast high impulsivity combined with low social anxiety resulted in a faster decrease in alcohol problem rates.  

Takeaway: this study showed that a combination of social anxiety and impulsivity can create ongoing alcohol problems for college students after leaving their academic environment.  Also, the study was not able to find a significant relationship between social anxiety, impulsivity, and alcohol use (rather than alcohol problems) in this student population.

Bilevicius E, Van Landeghem C, Stewart SH, Sherry SB, Keough MT. Trait Impulsivity Impedes Maturing Out of Problem Drinking Among Socially Anxious Undergraduates. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2021;56(1):101-108. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agaa109