IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 9822: Effects of the COVID-19 Mitigation Measures on Alcohol Consumption and Binge Drinking in College Students: A Longitudinal Survey

IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 9822: Effects of the COVID-19 Mitigation Measures on Alcohol Consumption and Binge Drinking in College Students: A Longitudinal Survey International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph18189822 Authors: Vasconcelos Crego Rodrigues Almeida-Antunes López-Caneda To “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 contagion, several countries ordered lockdowns amid the pandemic along with indications on social distancing. These social isolation measures could potentially bring alterations to healthy behavior, including to alcohol consumption. However, there is hardly any scientific evidence of the impact of such measures on alcohol consumption and binge drinking (BD) among young adults, and how they relate to alcohol craving, stress, anxiety, and depression levels. We addressed these questions by conducting a longitudinal study with 146 Portuguese college students—regular binge drinkers (regular BDs), infrequent binge drinkers (infrequent BDs) and non-binge drinkers (non-BDs)—in three moments: before the pandemic (Pre-Lockdown), during lockdown (Lockdown) and 6 months after (Post-Lockdown). Results revealed that regular BDs decreased alcohol use during Lockdown, a change in behavior that was even greater during Post-Lockdown, when regular BDs displayed similar levels of consumption to infrequent/non-BDs. Additionally, alcohol craving and living with friends were predictive of alcohol use during Lockdown, where...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research