Margo C. Villarosa

Social Anxiety Symptoms and Drinking Behaviors Among College Students: The Mediating Effects of Drinking Motives

The impact of social anxiety on negative alcohol-related behaviors among college students has been studied extensively. Drinking motives are considered the most proximal indicator of college student drinking behavior. The current study examined the mediating role of drinking motives in the relationship that social anxiety symptoms have with problematic (alcohol consumption, harmful drinking, and negative consequences) and safe (protective behavioral strategies) drinking behaviors. Participants were 532 undergraduates who completed measures of social anxiety, drinking motives, alcohol use, harmful drinking patterns, negative consequences of alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategy use. Our results show that students with higher levels of social anxiety symptoms who were drinking for enhancement motives reported more harmful drinking and negative consequences, and used fewer protective behavioral strategies. Thus, students who were drinking to increase their positive mood were participating in more problematic drinking patterns compared with students reporting fewer social anxiety symptoms. Further, conformity motives partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and negative consequences. Thus, students with more symptoms of social anxiety who were drinking in order to be accepted by their peers were more likely than others to experience negative consequences. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Social anxiety and alcohol-related negative consequences among college drinkers: do protective behavioral strategies mediate the association?

The link between social anxiety and alcohol-related negative consequences among college students has been well documented. Protective behavioral strategies are cognitive-behavioral strategies that college students use in an effort to reduce harm while they are drinking. In the current study we examined the mediating role of the 2 categories of protective behavioral strategies (i.e., controlled consumption and serious harm reduction) in the relationship that social anxiety symptoms have with alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 572 undergraduates who completed measures of social anxiety, alcohol use, negative consequences of alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategy use. Only serious harm reduction strategies emerged as a mediator of the association that social anxiety symptoms had with alcohol-related negative consequences. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Alcohol Expectancies, Protective Behavioral Strategies, and Alcohol-Related Outcomes: A Moderated Mediation Study

Aims: The influence of alcohol expectancies on alcohol consumption and the negative consequences of alcohol consumption among college students has been well documented. Protective behavioral strategies are associated with decreases in alcohol use and related consequences. This study examined the extent to which the use of protective behavioral strategies mediated the influence that alcohol expectancies had for alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences. Methods: Measures of expectancies about alcohol consumption, protective behavioral strategies used when consuming alcohol, amount of alcohol consumed and negative consequences associated with alcohol use were completed by 679 traditional age undergraduate students via a secure website. A moderated mediation data analytic strategy was employed because of the gender differences that have been observed for alcohol expectancies, consumption, and consequences. Findings: The use of protective behavioral strategies was found to mediate the associations that positive expectancies had with both the amount of alcohol consumed and the negative consequences of alcohol consumption only for women. Conclusions: Education and harm reduction efforts for college student drinkers, including expectancy challenge initiatives, would benefit from including information about use of protective behavioral strategies.

It's Supposed to Be Personal: Personal and Educational Factors Associated with Sexual Health Attitudes, Knowledge, Comfort and Skill in Health Profession Students

The health professional and the patient are cultural beings with beliefs and attitudes that are shaped by family traditions, social development, and exposure to novel experiences. As such, it is especially important for health profession students to gain awareness about the personal and educational factors that likely inform their practice and educational experiences and, as a result, impact their attitudes, knowledge, comfort, and skill in the area of sexual health. The current study sought to understand personal factors in health profession students associated with these sexual health competencies. Several early personal factors (gender, social class, and family sexuality communication), current personal factors (religion, spirituality, and relationship history), and educational factors (perceived quality of education and experience) were significantly related with sexual health competency. Results suggest that there is potential value to tailored interventions, student self-reflection, and interprofessional education among health profession students’ for the promotion of sexual health competency.

Drinking Motives and Alcohol Use Behaviors among African American College Students: The Mediating Role of Protective Behavioral Strategies

Drinking motives are robust predictors of alcohol use behaviors among college students. However, less is known about the link between drinking motives and alcohol use behaviors among African American college students. This study explored the associations between drinking motives and alcohol use behaviors in a sample of 215 African American college students. The study also assessed whether protective behavioral strategies mediated the associations between drinking motives and alcohol use behaviors. A direct relationship emerged between enhancement motives and alcohol consumption, harmful drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Protective behavioral strategies mediated each of these relationships. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Everyone else is doing it: examining the role of peer influence on the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol use behaviours

Abstract Social anxiety has been linked with harmful alcohol use, alcohol-related negative consequences, and less use of protective behavioural strategies among college students. The inability to resist peer influence has also been shown to be predictive of college student drinking behaviour. The current study examined the moderating role of resistance to peer influence in the relationship between social anxiety, alcohol-related negative consequences and protective behavioural strategies. Participants were 562 undergraduates who completed measures of social anxiety, resistance to peer influence, harmful drinking patterns, alcohol-related negative consequences and protective behavioural strategy use. As predicted, students with higher levels of social anxiety who also expressed being more susceptible to peer influence reported more harmful drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences, and fewer protective behavioural strategies. Thus, students with more social anxiety who may have been drinking in order to be accepted by their peers were more likely than others to engage in more problematic and less safe drinking behaviours. Interventions that focus on harm reduction with college students who drink and experience social anxiety would benefit from addressing their need to be accepted by peers and how that relates to their use of protective behavioural strategies.

Depressive Symptoms and Drinking Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Drinking Motives and Protective Behavioral Strategies Among College Students

ABSTRACT Background: College students with depressive symptoms tend to engage in more hazardous drinking and experience more alcohol-related consequences to cope with their symptoms. Given the perceived tension reducing effects of alcohol among these students, it is important to explore how protective factors, such as protective behavioral strategies, account for the relationships among depressive symptoms, drinking motives, and alcohol-related outcomes. Objective: To examine the mediating role of drinking motives and protective behavioral strategies on the associations that depressive symptoms have with typical weekly alcohol consumption, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences in a sample of college student drinkers. Methods: Traditional age college students (n = 566, 73% women; 58% White, non-Hispanic) completed measures of depression, drinking motives, protective behavioral strategies, weekly alcohol use, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Results: Coping with depression motives and controlled consumption PBS explained the association between depression and weekly alcohol consumption and hazardous drinking whereas coping with depression motives and serious harm reduction PBS explained the depression-negative consequences relationship. Conformity motives and serious harm reduction PBS explained the association between depression and hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Conclusions: Findings suggest that students with more depressive symptoms would benefit from clinical interventions tailored to address negative reinforcement drinking motives and, by extension, increase student utilization of PBS related to minimizing harm. Clinical and research implications are provided.

Examining the role of positive drinking consequences on the relationship between social anxiety and negative drinking consequences

ABSTRACT Positive drinking consequences are gaining more attention in the college student drinking literature due to their degree of saliency in predicting hazardous drinking. However, the research is limited on the relationship between psychological constructs, such as social anxiety, and positive drinking consequences. The current study explored the moderating role of positive drinking consequences on the relationship between social anxiety and negative drinking consequences in a sample of hazardous drinking college students. A sample of 222 hazardous drinking undergraduate students completed measures of social anxiety and positive and negative drinking consequences. As predicted, social anxiety and positive consequences were positively related to negative consequences. Contrary to our predictions, interaction results revealed that students with more social anxiety reported more negative consequences when they reported fewer rather than more positive consequences. Thus, students with more social anxiety may not obtain the social benefits from drinking, which appears to be contributing to their experience of negative drinking consequences. Briefly, alcohol intervention clinicians should consider how to incorporate discussions of positive drinking consequences for these students to facilitate ways to foster social engagement while minimizing alcohol-related harm.

The integration of science and practice: Unique perspectives from counseling psychology students

Counseling psychology training programs predominately subscribe to the scientist–practitioner training model, which emphasizes the mutual integration of science and practice. There has been extensive debate surrounding the applicability of the scientist–practitioner training model to the field of counseling psychology, and existing commentary from both trainers and trainees has documented the potential challenges to adequately integrating science and practice. In the current article, three counseling psychology doctoral students outline their experiences in a program that adheres to the scientist–practitioner training model. In particular, they describe their involvement in both clinical and scholarly related activities, their experiences with the integration of science and practice, and how the scientist–practitioner model has influenced their overall professional development. Specific examples of how the scientist–practitioner model can shape the perspectives and career goals of psychologists-in-training are reviewed.