Sam finds out her friend, Kelly, who was ridden with social anxiety, had been binge drinking every night. As she claimed it, alcohol helped Kelly regulate her mood in social situations. After a few more than a couple drinks, she felt perfectly calm. Sam thought about it, and thought about it, and she could explain why Kelly consumed copious amounts of alcohol. But she couldn’t explain why she, herself, did the same thing. Sam didn’t have anxiety. It was just fun! And she only drank that much at parties. Well, looks like she had some google searching to do…

The explanation of anxiety has had mixed research on its correlation with binge drinking in college students. It definitely doesn’t cover the facts behind why college students use alcohol as a coping mechanism. It is therefore important to understand the peer influence and pressure of drinking in a college setting, outside of social anxiety as well. So just like for Sam, more research needs to be done!