Anxiety, Not Social Phobia, Spurs Teens to Drink More, Study Shows

Myhealthnewsdaily.com, January 27, 2011


"A new study in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism highlights the complex relationship between mental health and substance use.
Although it was known that anxious teens often self-medicate with alcohol, a group of Finnish researchers, led by Sari Fröjd at the University of Tampere, showed those teens are also more likely to continue using alcohol two years later.
Fröjd found that 65 percent of teens with anxiety who reported drinking weekly at the study's start continued to drink weekly two years later, whereas 55 percent of those without general anxiety disorder continued drinking that often.
The study shows that 'general anxiety certainly exacerbates drinking frequency,' Fröjd said." Read More