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Mindfulness Facets, Social Anxiety, and Drinking to Cope with Social Anxiety: Testing Mediators of Drinking Problems

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Abstract

This cross-sectional study tested social anxiety symptoms, trait mindfulness, and drinking to cope with social anxiety as potential predictors and/or serial mediators of drinking problems. A community-based sample of individuals with co-occurring social anxiety symptoms and alcohol dependence were recruited. Participants (N = 105) completed measures of social anxiety, drinking to cope with social anxiety, and alcohol use and problems. As well, participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, which assesses mindfulness facets of accepting without judgment, acting with awareness, not reacting to one’s internal experiences, observing and attending to experiences, and labeling and describing. As predicted, the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and drinking problems was mediated by social anxiety coping motives across each of the models. Further, the relationship between specific mindfulness facets (acting with awareness, accepting without judgment, and describe) and drinking problems was serially mediated by social anxiety symptoms and drinking to cope with social anxiety. This research builds upon existing studies that have largely been conducted with college students to evaluate potential mediators driving drinking problems. Specifically, individuals who are less able to act with awareness, accept without judgment, and describe their internal experiences may experience heightened social anxiety and drinking to cope with that anxiety, which could ultimately result in greater alcohol-related problems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful for the statistical consultation on handling missing data provided by Dr. Elizabeth Kiel, as well as the statistical consultation on using Mplus provided by Dr. Aaron Luebbe. We would also like to thank Karina Del Valle, Robert Gibler, Susan McDonald, Tricia Minton, Namratha Sandella, and Rebecca Wang for their research assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

    Elise M. Clerkin, Laurel D. Sarfan & E. Marie Parsons

  2. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Joshua C. Magee

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  1. Elise M. Clerkin
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  3. E. Marie Parsons
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Correspondence to Elise M. Clerkin.

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This research was supported by a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism R21AA021151 grant awarded to the first author.

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We have no actual or potential conflict of interests to disclose.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Clerkin, E.M., Sarfan, L.D., Parsons, E.M. et al. Mindfulness Facets, Social Anxiety, and Drinking to Cope with Social Anxiety: Testing Mediators of Drinking Problems. Mindfulness 8, 159–170 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0589-6

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