Self-administration of alcohol before and after a public speaking challenge by individuals with social phobia.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 16(3) of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (see record 2009-17717-001). On page 121, in the abstract, the penultimate sentence incorrectly reads, “As predicted, participants consumed more alcohol following the anxiety challenge than following the control task; however, the opposite pattern was evidenced for drinking following the 2 activities.” The sentence should read as follows: “As predicted, participants consumed more alcohol following the anxiety challenge than following the control task; however, the opposite pattern was evidenced for drinking preceding the 2 activities.”] K. Abrams, M. Kushner, K. Medina, and A. Voight (2001) showed that alcohol attenuates social anxiety symptoms in socially phobic individuals. This article examines whether social anxiety symptoms can lead to increased alcohol use in this same population. Forty-four individuals with social phobia attended 2 laboratory sessions, spaced 1 week apart, in groups of approximately 10. Participants underwent a social anxiety challenge during 1 session and a control task during the other. Half of the sample self-administered alcohol immediately before, and half immediately after, these 2 activities. As predicted, participants consumed more alcohol following the anxiety challenge than following the control task; however, the opposite pattern was evidenced for drinking following the 2 activities. These findings add to an understanding of why social phobia and alcohol problems tend to co-occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)