Drinking and Thinking: Alcohol Effects on Post-event Processing in Socially Anxious Individuals

We examined the effects of drinking alcohol at the time of a social event on later post-event processing among socially anxious individuals. A sample of 84 (43 males, M (age) = 21.36 years, SD (age) = 2.06) undergraduates were randomly assigned to an alcohol (n = 44; mean blood alcohol concentration = .057 %), or a no alcohol (n = 40) condition. Following beverage consumption and absorption, they participated in a social interaction with an opposite-gendered confederate. Four days later, participants completed a measure of post-event processing of this interaction. A significant beverage condition by gender interaction was observed on levels of post-event processing: post-event processing levels were lower in the alcohol versus the no alcohol condition for females, whereas they were higher in the alcohol versus the no alcohol condition for males. This pattern of alcohol reinforcement might help explain observed gender differences in the odds of alcohol use disorders in social anxiety disorder.