A systematic review and meta‐analysis on the association between solitary drinking and alcohol problems in adults

Abstract

Background and aims Solitary drinking in adolescents and young adults is associated with greater risk for alcohol problems, but it is unclear whether this association exists in older demographics. The current paper is the first meta‐analysis and systematic review to determine whether adult solitary drinking is associated with greater risk for alcohol problems. Methods PsychINFO, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched following a pre‐registered PROSPERO protocol (CRD42019147075) and PRISMA methodology. Following the methodology used in our recent systematic review and meta‐analysis on adolescent/young adult solitary drinking, we systematically reviewed solitary drinking measures/definitions, prevalence rates, and associated demographic variables in adults. We then meta‐analyzed (using random effects models) associations between adult solitary drinking and alcohol use/problems, negative affect, and negative/positive reinforcement‐related variables (e.g., drinking to cope or for enhancement). Results Solitary drinking was defined as drinking while physically alone in nearly all studies, but measures varied. Prevalence rates were generally in the 30‐40% range with some exceptions. In general, males were more likely than females to report drinking alone, and married individuals were less likely than unmarried individuals to report drinking alone; racial/ethnic differences were mixed. Meta‐analytic results showed significant effects for the associations between solitary drinking and the following factors: alcohol consumption, r =0.25, 95%CI [0.18, 0.33], k =15, I 2 =97.41; drinking problems, r =0.15, 95%CI [0.10, 0.21], k =14, I 2 =92.70; and negative reinforcement, r =0.24, 95%CI [0.14, 0.32], k =11, I 2 =91.54; but not positive reinforcement, r=0.02, 95%CI [‐0.06, 0.09], k =8, I 2 =76.18; or negative affect, r =0.03, 95%CI [‐0.02, 0.08], k =8, I 2 =52.06. Study quality moderated the association between solitary drinking and negative affect (β=‐0.07, p <0.01) such that lower quality studies were significantly associated with larger effect sizes. Study quality was generally low; the majority of studies were cross‐sectional. Conclusions Solitary drinking appears to have a small positive association with alcohol problems.

Domestication of drinking: a survey study of changes in types of drinking occasions during periods of increasing and decreasing alcohol consumption in the 2000s in Finland

“…However, an additive effect of this separate phenomenon is a more likely explanation, but this conjecture needs to be confirmed in longitudinal settings. Approximately 10% of all home alone occasions were intoxication occasions by 2016, and their share of all intoxication occasions increased from 4% in 2000 to 14% in 2016; even if most solitary drinking was light drinking, a part can be connected to heavy drinking, marginalization and health problems [28] or can reflect emerging symptoms of use disorder [29], and can (when frequent) contribute to chronically high alcohol exposure. Hence, these occasions contribute to alcohol problems and should be considered in prevention work.…”

Drinking Together and Drinking Alone: A Social-Contextual Framework for Examining Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder

“…It will be important to test the hypothesized framework in older individuals, especially given the increasing prevalence of social isolation associated with aging (Luo, Hawkley, Waite, & Cacioppo, 2012). Standardizing the definition of solitary drinking to mean drinking while no one else is physically (or virtually) present would help to further clarify associations between solitary drinking and relevant variables, given that some researchers have defined solitary drinking as drinking with nondrinking other people or among noninteracting others (see Skrzynski & Creswell, 2020a, 2020b).…”

“…Future studies are needed to determine whether there are differential negative consequences across social and solitary settings. It is also noteworthy that the vast majority of studies in this area have been conducted on adolescents and young adults (but see Skrzynski & Creswell, 2020b, for a meta-analysis on the association between solitary drinking and alcohol problems in adults). It will be important to test the hypothesized framework in older individuals, especially given the increasing prevalence of social isolation associated with aging (Luo, Hawkley, Waite, & Cacioppo, 2012).…”

The influence of negative mood on solitary drinking preference: An experiment with young adult solitary drinkers

“…Further, we recruited individuals who reported solitary drinking, but future studies might consider additional eligibility criteria including heavy drinking status and scoring highly on trait neuroticism, both of which might increase the likelihood of choosing to drink alone in the context of a negative mood induction. This study focused on young adults, and future studies are indicated to explore mechanisms for solitary drinking among older individuals (see [ 50 ]). Finally, it is important to note that individuals who volunteer to participate in laboratory alcohol studies may not be representative of all drinking individuals.…”