Effect of anxious affect on drinking self-efficacy in college students

This study examined the role of anxious affect on drinking self-efficacy in under-graduates. Participants (N = 73) were blocked on dispositional levels of social anxiety and randomly assigned to a social-anxiety-inducing or control condition in a 2 X 2 design. Results did not show the hypothesized interaction effect between dispositional social anxiety and the anxiety manipulation on self-efficacy for avoiding heavy drinking but did demonstrate a main effect of dispositional social anxiety on self-efficacy in situations characterized by negative affect. Significant correlations were found between alcohol expectancies of social facilitation, social anxiety, and self-efficacy for avoiding heavy drinking. Theoretical implications regarding sources of efficacy and the development of interventions for high-risk drinkers are discussed.