Not All Anxiety is the Same: How Different "Types" of Anxiety Uniquely Associate With College Students' Drinking Intentions

Heavy drinking is a prevalent public health problem among college students. Presumed under tension reduction theory, students drink to reduce anxiety. Because rates of anxiety appear to be increasing on campuses, we investigated whether anxiety from the fear of missing out (FoMO) was associated with intentions to drink more so than other types of anxiety. From a sample of 112 students, results showed that FoMO was uniquely associated with intentions for heavy drinking over and above clinical and test anxiety as well as with past heavy drinking. This suggests a nuance to students' reported anxiety and drinking, which may offer future direction for intervention.