The Relationship Between Alcohol and Anxiety
Meet psychology major and music and economics minor Alyssa Gorkin.
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Thesis adviser: Prof. Kristen G. Anderson [psychology]
Thesis: “So What We Get Drunk: Social Anxiety, Drinking Motives, and Drinking Outcomes in an Emerging Adult Gender Diverse Community Sample”
What it’s about: My thesis explores the impact social anxiety has on the reasons individuals choose to drink alcohol, and how these factors impact alcohol use outcomes. I explored these relations in a sample of gender-diverse emerging adults. I found that increased social anxiety is associated with increased endorsement of coping motives for use and higher rates of potentially hazardous drinking. However, the effect of gender remains unclear.
What it’s really about: Social anxiety, drinking motives, alcohol consumption, and potentially hazardous drinking in a community living sample of emerging adults.
Extracurriculars: I was involved with the Jewish Student Union. Some of my favorite events included Spring Shabbat, Purim Ball, and Ball Mitzvah. At Ball Mitzvah I was lucky enough to DJ the event and had a phenomenal time bringing people together.
Cool stuff: Taught pigeons to gamble in Prof. Tim Hackenberg’s Learning & Adaptive Behavior Lab.
Concept that blew my mind: Reduced listening, which was coined by Pierre Schaffer. It is listening devoid of causality or meaning (and I am still not convinced it exists). It asks someone to hear sounds for just their sonic qualities and not what causes the sound, where it came from, or what it means.
How Reed changed me: Reed has changed so much for and about me. Though my academics still remain important to me, my relationship to them has shifted dramatically. My work at Reed became more about my future and goals. Being at Reed allowed me to come into an authentic version of myself, surrounded by friends that I’m so grateful to have met.
Help received along the way: I would not have been able to attend Reed without my financial aid package, and my financial aid is why I decided to attend Reed.
Fellowships and awards: The John Leonard Adams Fellowship and the ¿ì»îÊÓƵ Science Research Fellowship, among others.
More cool stuff: This summer I will be presenting my research for the first time at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol, and I will be presenting at the first satellite meeting on Sex, Gender, and Alcohol. This research has been published as my first, first author publication.
What’s next: I will be starting as a Research Study Coordinator at the Lab for Scalable Mental Health at Northwestern University to prepare myself for a clinical psych PhD.
Tags: Academics, Students, Thesis, What is a Reedie?