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

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this article is to study how Covid-19 stress-related factors and changes in social engagement during the pandemic contributed to changes in alcohol use among first-year college students. Methods We used data on 439 first-year students (ages 18–20) at a large public university in North Carolina both before (October 2019 to February 2020) and after (June/July 2020) the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. We evaluated changes in prevalence and days of alcohol use and binge drinking. We estimated the associations between Covid-19 stressors/stress (work reductions, health, distanced learning difficulties, perceived stress) and social engagement (perceived social support from friends, social isolation, and social distancing) after controlling for students’ pre-pandemic alcohol use, social engagement, and demographic characteristics. Results We found that the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking in the past 30 days decreased from 54.2% to 46.0% and 35.5% to 24.6%, respectively; days of use did not change significantly. The decreases were primarily associated with reductions in social engagement. Among Covid-19 stressors/stress, only challenges with distance learning were associated with higher alcohol use among those who were already drinking prior to the pandemic. Drinking increased more among those who endorsed using substances to cope, while drinking was not associated with resilient coping. Conclusions Unless new drinking habits are formed during the pandemic, decreases in alcohol use among college students are unlikely to be sustained as social distancing measures are removed. Colleges may want to target interventions to students who have responded to stress with increased alcohol use, partly by addressing difficulties with distance learning.

Alcohol use and the COVID-19 pandemic: Historical trends in drinking, contexts, and reasons for use among U.S. adults

“…Later studies have included cross-sectional panel or longitudinal methodology. Some of these key studies involved localized data (e.g., Bade et al, 2021 ; Charles et al, 2021 ; Evans et al, 2021 ; Fruehwirth et al, 2021 ; Graupensperger et al, 2021 ; Jackson et al, 2021 ; Lechner et al, 2021 ; Minhas et al, 2021 ; Ryerson et al, 2021 ; Salazar-Fernández et al, 2021 ; Ward et al, 2021 ), while others utilized national data. Of those using national data, some have included trend data ( Schulenberg et al, 2021 ) but have not specifically examined changes during the pandemic while controlling for existing trends; others have included limited data points (i.e., one or two) preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Barbosa et al, 2021 ; Daly and Robinson, 2021 ; Oksanen et al, 2021 ; Pollard et al, 2020 ), while others included only data points after pandemic onset (e.g., Irizar et al, 2021 ; Nordeck et al, 2021 ).…”

“…One study examining change in drinking motives among the general population indicated COVID-related increases in depression and coping motives, as well as decreases in social, enhancement, and conformity motives ( Graupensperger et al, 2021 ). Both general population and college student studies have found that increases in alcohol use during the pandemic were associated with drinking to cope ( Fruehwirth et al, 2021 ; Irizar et al, 2021 ). National data are needed to better understand changes in drinking contexts and reasons during the pandemic (particularly those dealing with negative affect), controlling for pre-existing historical trends.…”

Alcohol Use Disorders among Slovak and Czech University Students: A Closer Look at Tobacco Use, Cannabis Use and Socio-Demographic Characteristics

“…It is true that the COVID-19 pandemic is an unknown situation, and more pressure can be expected in students’ lives. Young adults face various impulses of risky behaviour during the pandemic [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Thus, in the context of the pandemic, increased attention should be paid to the psychological distress that is associated with heavy drinking and a high-risk level of drug use among university students [ 26 ].…”

Meaning in life and stress-related drinking: A multicohort study of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Although college students largely decreased drinking at the onset of the pandemic ( Bollen et al, 2021 , Bonar et al, 2021 ) given changes in living situation ( Jaffe et al, 2021 ), college drinking remained prominent, with 65% of students endorsing past-month alcohol use ( Schulenberg et al, 2021 ). During the pandemic, some students did increase drinking to cope, which has been associated with increased binge drinking ( Buckner et al, 2021 , Fruehwirth et al, 2021 , Mohr et al, 2021 ) and negative consequences ( Hingson et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Although considerable research has examined stress and college drinking before and during the pandemic ( Fruehwirth et al, 2021 , Ham and Hope, 2003 , Mohr et al, 2021 ), resilience to stress-related drinking has received less attention ( Johnson et al, 2011 , Lechner et al, 2020 ). One potential resource is meaning in life , which refers to the “sense made of, and significance felt regarding, the nature of one’s being and existence” ( Steger et al, 2006 ).…”