Faculty Sponsor: Professor Gooyabadi
Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/92525786840
Laila Hilal
Laila Hilal is a Sophomore at Wesleyan University from Karachi, Pakistan. Laila is planning to major in Economics with a minor in Data Analysis. She is involved in the Wesleyan Investment Group, Women in Finance Club, and the Photography Club. Laila also works as an Office Assistant at the Office of Student Involvement.
Abstract:
Social phobia is described as intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated or rejected in a social or performance situation (ADAA, 2023). One way people may try to cope with their social phobia is by engaging in substance use behaviors, which can eventually develop into an addiction. Existing literature reveals that substance use acts as a maladaptive coping mechanism for some sufferers of social anxiety disorder (Rosentröm & Fartein Ask Torvik, 2023). This study uses data from the first wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a nationally representative sample of the non-institutionalized adult population of the United States, to explore the association between social phobia, various substance addictions and depression, while also considering differences in sex. Results reveal that social phobia and depression are significantly associated with both drug and cigarette addiction. When accounting for sex, this association remains statistically significant for drug addiction but not for cigarette addiction. Overall, findings show that the association between social phobia, substance addictions and depression varies across gender.