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Article: Social anxiety disorder and alcohol use.
- Article from:
- Alcohol Research & Health
- Article date:
- March 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Social anxiety disorder--an excessive fear of social situations, such as eating or speaking in public--affects 2 to 13 percent of the U.S. population. About one-fifth of patients with social anxiety disorder also suffer from an alcohol use disorder (AUD) (i.e., alcohol abuse or dependence). One theory to explain the comorbidity between social anxiety disorder and AUDs is the tension reduction theory, which posits that people with social anxiety use alcohol to alleviate their fears. This expectation that alcohol reduces anxiety may motivate alcohol consumption even if pharmacological studies do not support that assumption. Social anxiety disorder is treatable with both ...