Is the COVID‐19 Pandemic a High‐Risk Period for College Student Alcohol Use? A Comparison of Three Spring Semesters

Abstract

Background: There has been widespread concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may be a high-risk time for alcohol use among heavy drinking populations such as college students. Initial efforts to evaluate changes in college drinking have not yet accounted for typical drinking patterns within a semester.Methods: To fill this gap, we evaluated how college student drinking patterns changed with the onset of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic during spring 2020 relative to spring 2018 and 2019. Participants were 1,365 college students aged 19 and older, including 895 students who reported pastmonth alcohol use. Daily drinking data were extracted from an online Timeline Followback survey.Results: Negative binomial hurdle models revealed that, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, college student drinkers did not increase their drinking frequency as was typical in late spring semester, and the number of drinks per occasion declined substantially (28% reduction), greater than the change observed from early to late spring 2018 (3% reduction) or spring 2019 (8% increase). This reduction in drinking quantity in spring 2020 was larger for college student drinkers who moved residences because of the pandemic (49% reduction) than students who did not move (21% reduction). Perceptions in pandemic-related changes in drinking also revealed that 83.5% of college student drinkers self-reported that their drinking stayed the same or decreased.Conclusions: Findings suggest that, on average, college students drank less-not more-during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the importance of living situation in college student drinking behavior. More research is needed to assess alcohol use in other universities, as this information could be utilized in norms-based interventions to further reduce drinking in students who remain at risk.

University Students’ Lifestyle Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Survey

“…For example, 68.2% of Belgian students stated that they had consumed less alcohol during the first lockdown, compared to previous levels [16]. Similarly, a longitudinal study [17] conducted in the United States over three springs (2018, 2019, and 2020) showed that college students did not increase their drinking frequency in 2020 as was typical at the end of the spring semester (in 2018 and 2019). In addition, this study also highlighted that their number of drinks per occasion decreased significantly (28% reduction) during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…University students have encountered many educational challenges (e.g., widespread transition to remote online learning, changes in assessment and examinations, and disruption to internship placements), which have had a major impact on their habits. During the first lockdown, some studies conducted on the general population [1,12,13] and others studies conducted among students reported a decrease in alcohol consumption, expressed as a reduction in binge drinking [14,15], as well as in the frequency of drinking [16,17]. For example, 68.2% of Belgian students stated that they had consumed less alcohol during the first lockdown, compared to previous levels [16].…”

Alcohol use, cannabis use, and psychopathology symptoms among college students before and after COVID-19

“…Studies of alcohol use in United States (U.S.) college students have produced conflicting results with reference to changes related to COVID. On the one hand, two studies suggested increases in alcohol use ( Charles et al, 2021 ; Lechner et al, 2020 ), while three studies found decreases in alcohol use following university closures ( Jaffe et al, 2021 ; Ryerson et al, 2021 ; White et al, 2020 ). A sixth found a complex pattern of changes, with increases in frequency of use that were counteracted by declines in quantity of use and binge drinking, all of which was moderated by pre-COVID use patterns ( Jackson et al, 2021 ).…”

The Effect of Social and Stress-Related Factors on Alcohol Use Among College Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…A growing literature has investigated the effects of the pandemic on alcohol use among adolescents, young adults, and college students in the U.S. and found mixed results [ [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] ]. Decreases in opportunities to socialize related to the pandemic were associated with decreases in alcohol use among college students [ 11 , 12 , 18 , 20 ].…”

“…Decreases in opportunities to socialize related to the pandemic were associated with decreases in alcohol use among college students [ 11 , 12 , 18 , 20 ]. College students who changed residence to live with parents and those who believed that Covid-19 precaution-taking was important, which presumably was associated with fewer opportunities to socialize, decreased their alcohol use more than their peers [ 11 , 12 , [18] , [19] , [20] ]. Research has also found an important role for stressors in determining alcohol use among U.S. college students during the pandemic [ 24 , 25 ], along with associations between drinking to cope motives and heavier alcohol use [ 17 , 24 ].…”