College drinking declined during pandemic
Downward trend in college drinking could change once students return to campus, researchers say

Date:
August 16, 2021
Source:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Summary:
Researchers say social distancing contributed to a decline in
drinking among first-year college students. But the downward trend
could change with the return to campus.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== First-year college students are reporting drinking less alcohol and having fewer episodes of binge drinking four months into the coronavirus pandemic
than they were before the pandemic started, according to a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


==========================================================================
The study is based on the experiences of 439 Carolina students
and reflects how the pandemic affected students' social lives and
stress. Researchers from the Carolina Population Center and the UNC
School of Medicine published the study findings August 2 in the Journal
of Adolescent Health.

"We found that social factors, like social distancing and reductions in
social support from friends, were associated with decreases in alcohol use among first-year students. By contrast, stress-related factors were less important," said lead study author Jane Cooley Fruehwirth, an associate professor in the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Economics in the College
of Arts & Sciences and a faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center.

Her collaborators include Ben Gorman, a senior communications and
neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Krista
Perreira, a professor of social medicine at the UNC School of Medicine
and a faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center. The work builds
on their previous research looking at the mental health of first-year
college students during the pandemic.

Alcohol Usage Declines Using survey data, researchers found the prevalence
of alcohol use by first- year college students decreased from 54.2%
before the pandemic to 46% mid- pandemic. The prevalence of binge drinking dropped from 35.5% before the pandemic to 24.6% mid-pandemic.

"We followed the same group of first-year college students before and
after the pandemic began, which allowed us to analyze Covid-related determinants of drinking behaviors while accounting for pre-existing
alcohol use and social factors," says Gorman, who also runs the TEACH Initiative, an organization which conducts near-peer substance use and
mental health education in North Carolina high schools.

While the social factors dominated, stress did play a role for some
students.

Difficulties with distanced learning were associated with increased
drinking for students who were already consuming alcohol before the
pandemic.

Furthermore, 20.5% of students reported using alcohol or other drugs to
cope with the pandemic.

"The dominance of social factors suggests that reductions in alcohol
use may not be sustained once college students return to campus,"
said Fruehwirth. "For students who were already drinking prior to the
pandemic, universities can support them by providing ways to help them
manage stress, through counseling, student support groups and particularly targeting challenges with distance learning through academic coaching."
This research was supported by the Carolina Population Center and its
National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development (NICHD) Grant Award Number P2C HD50924 (JF), the Integrating Special Populations/ North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute through Grant Award Number UL1TR002489 (KP), the
Office of Undergraduate Research and Department of Economics at UNC-CH.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jane Cooley Fruehwirth, Benjamin L. Gorman, Krista M. Perreira. The
Effect of Social and Stress-Related Factors on Alcohol Use Among
College Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Journal of Adolescent
Health, 2021; DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.06.016 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210816081420.htm

--- up 14 weeks, 3 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)