Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2021 Apr;45(4):752-764. doi: 10.1111/acer.14574. Epub 2021 Mar 23.
In spring 2020, U.S. universities closed campuses to limit the transmission of COVID-19, resulting in an abrupt change in residence, reductions in social interaction, and in many cases, movement away from a heavy drinking culture. The present mixed-methods study explores COVID-19-related changes in college student drinking. We characterize concomitant changes in social and location drinking contexts and describe reasons attributed to changes in drinking.
We conducted two studies of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on drinking behavior, drinking context, and reasons for both increases and decreases in consumption among college students. Study 1 (qualitative) included 18 heavy-drinking college students (M = 20.2; 56% female) who completed semi-structured interviews. Study 2 (quantitative) included 312 current and former college students who reported use of alcohol and cannabis (M = 21.3; 62% female) and who completed an online survey.
In both studies, COVID-19-related increases in drinking frequency were accompanied by decreases in quantity, heavy drinking, and drunkenness. Yet, in Study 2, although heavier drinkers reduced their drinking, among non-heavy drinkers several indices of consumption increased or remained stable . Both studies also provided evidence of reductions in social drinking with friends and roommates and at parties and increased drinking with family. Participants confirmed that their drinking decreased due to reduced social opportunities and/or settings, limited access to alcohol, and reasons related to health and self-discipline. Increases were attributed to greater opportunity (more time) and boredom and to a lesser extent, lower perceived risk of harm and to cope with distress.
This study documents COVID-19-related changes in drinking among college student drinkers that were attributable to changes in context, particularly a shift away from heavy drinking with peers to lighter drinking with family. Given the continued threat of COVID-19, it is imperative for researchers, administrators, and parents to understand these trends as they may have lasting effects on college student drinking behaviors.
2020 年春季，美国各大学关闭校园以限制 COVID-19 的传播，导致居住环境的突然改变、社交互动的减少，而且在许多情况下，远离豪饮文化。本混合方法研究探讨了 COVID-19 对大学生饮酒的影响。我们描述了社会和地点饮酒环境的伴随变化，并描述了归因于饮酒变化的原因。
我们对 COVID-19 大流行对大学生饮酒行为、饮酒环境以及饮酒增加和减少的原因进行了两项研究。研究 1（定性）包括 18 名重度饮酒的大学生（M=20.2；56%为女性），他们完成了半结构化访谈。研究 2（定量）包括 312 名当前和以前的大学生，他们报告使用酒精和大麻（M=21.3；62%为女性）并完成了在线调查。
在两项研究中，与 COVID-19 相关的饮酒频率增加伴随着饮酒量、豪饮和醉酒的减少。然而，在研究 2 中，尽管重度饮酒者减少了饮酒，但在非重度饮酒者中，几项消费指数增加或保持稳定。两项研究还提供了与朋友和室友、聚会时社交饮酒减少以及与家人饮酒增加的证据。参与者证实，由于社交机会和/或环境减少、有限的酒精获取以及与健康和自律有关的原因，他们的饮酒量减少。增加归因于更多的机会（更多的时间）和无聊，在较小程度上归因于较低的感知伤害风险和应对困扰。
本研究记录了 COVID-19 期间大学生饮酒者的饮酒变化，这些变化归因于环境的变化，特别是从与同伴豪饮到与家人轻饮的转变。鉴于 COVID-19 的持续威胁，研究人员、管理人员和家长必须了解这些趋势，因为它们可能对大学生的饮酒行为产生持久影响。
