At home and online during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship to alcohol consumption in a national sample of U.S. adults

Abstract

Introduction The current study aimed to understand the links between social media use and alcohol consumption during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method Data were from the national Understanding American Study, a probability-based Internet panel weighted to represent the U.S. population. Subjects (N = 5874; 51% female) were adults, 18 years and older, who completed a March survey (wave 1) and a follow-up survey one month later (wave 3). Analyses assessed the relationships of social media use at wave 1 with wave 3 alcohol use frequency, accounting for wave 1 alcohol use frequency and the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample. Two alcohol use change variables were also assessed as outcomes–increased and decreased alcohol use between waves. We considered the effect of work status changes (working/studying from home and job loss) as potential moderators. Results Twitter and Instagram users and users of multiple social media platforms, but not Facebook users, drank more frequently at wave 3. The results were similar when assessing relationships between social media use and increased alcohol use between waves. For Instagram users, more frequent alcohol use at wave 3 was at least partially attributed to drinking frequency at wave 1. Additionally, working/studying from home at wave 3 and employment (rather than job loss) were associated with greater consumption. The interaction effect between Twitter use and working/studying from home was statistically significant in association with alcohol use frequency at wave 3, as was the interaction effect between using multiple platforms and working/studying from home in association with decreased alcohol use between waves. Discussion Exposure to content about COVID-19 and increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic may have contributed to more frequent alcohol use for some social media users. The study of public health messaging via social media to change alcohol use behaviors during traumatic events is warranted.

Machine learning-based analytics of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption habit changes among United States healthcare workers

“…Question 23: “Has the amount of news you are consuming increased since the end of Feb, 2020?” is another important predictor that is selected by XGB-4. Chartier et al 76 investigated the relationship between social media use and alcohol consumption during the first onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their data was taken from the Understanding American Study which is a group of 5,874 individuals who are 18 years or older that are meant to resemble the United States Population.…”

Are Cisgender Women and Transgender and Nonbinary People Drinking More During the COVID-19 Pandemic? It Depends.

“…Nine longitudinal studies of adults in the general population met inclusion criteria. 92 – 100 Three of these were based on a single data source, the Understanding America Study (UAS), 92 , 95 , 97 a nationally representative panel study conducted monthly, with published data through mid-2020. All three studies from UAS demonstrated increases in alcohol consumption during the pandemic using repeated-measures longitudinal analyses, including increases in drinking days and near-daily drinking among cisgender women.…”

Epidemiology and Disease Burden of Alcohol Associated Liver Disease

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has not changed this trend. Preliminary results from the COLLATE project from Australia demonstrated an increased risk of drinking among women during the COVID-19 pandemic (52). A small study conducted in Midwestern females in the US also confirmed an overall increase in alcohol use in J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f women by 17%,and demonstrated an increase in AUDIT C (AUD Identification Test) scores.…”

“…Population N Findings 47 Grossman et al US adults above 21 yrs. 832 Increase in binge drinking and frequency of alcohol use 52 Chartier et al US adults 18 yrs. and older 5874 Increased frequency of alcohol use during 3 rd wave of COVID 19 amongst users of multiple social media platforms 53 Zipursky et al Canadian study NA Increase in alcohol sales and alcohol related emergencies 54 Sidor et al Polish residents 1097 Increase in alcohol consumption was seen in 14.6%, with a higher tendency to drink more in individuals with AUD 55…”