Date of Award

Summer 2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

Committee Director

James M. Henson

Committee Member

Matthew Judah

Committee Member

James Bliss

Abstract

The present research examined the mediating relationship between social anxiety, drinking to cope with social anxiety, and alcohol-related consequences. Additionally, this study examined the mediating relationship between social anxiety, using cannabis to cope with social anxiety and cannabis-related consequences. Furthermore, this study examined whether or not trait mindfulness exhibited a moderating effect on both of these mediation relationships which have been previously observed in the literature. The study consisted of students recruited through the psychology research participant pool at a mid-sized southeastern university. Two data sets were created based on type of substance use (alcohol or cannabis). The majority of participants in each sample were female (n = 166, 68.3% for alcohol; n = 168, 67.5% for cannabis) and reported a mean age of 21. Participants completed measures of social anxiety, alcohol use, cannabis use, drinking to cope with social anxiety, using cannabis to cope with social anxiety, alcohol-related consequences, cannabis-related consequences, and trait mindfulness. The present study found partial support for The Biopsychosocial model of social anxiety and substance use, as well as cognitive models of both social anxiety and substance abuse. In particular, it was found that the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences was mediated by drinking to cope with social anxiety. This same pattern of mediation was also observed in the relationship between social anxiety and cannabis-related consequences, which was mediated by using cannabis to cope with social anxiety. Further, this study examined relationships between trait mindfulness and both alcohol- and cannabis-related variables, including alcohol and cannabis use, using alcohol and cannabis to cope, and alcohol- and cannabis-related consequences. It was found that trait mindfulness moderated the mediating effect of using cannabis to cope with social anxiety on the relationship between social anxiety and cannabis related problems.

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DOI

10.25777/byjn-bj61

ISBN

9781088321966

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