ABSTRACT
Purpose: The frequency of alcohol use has increased substantially in the United States since the Covid-19 pandemic began. These increases have occurred in parallel with increases in various other psychosocial stressors as well as intimate partner violence (IPV). It is important to understand how these public health issues co-occur, as well as the extent to which these stressors predict drinking frequency longitudinally. Methods: Participants (N = 323) were recruited from MTurk and completed an online survey in April/May 2020 (Time 1) and again one year later (Time 2). Individuals self-reported their alcohol use frequency, Covid-specific stress, general stress, depression symptoms, IPV, and discrimination experiences. Marginalized racial groups were over sampled such that 37.6% identified as Black, 24.9% as Asian, 25.2% White not Hispanic, 8.2% White Hispanic, and 4.0% American Indian or Alaskan Native. 58.5% of participants were women, 39.0% were men, and 2.4% identified another way. Data and results: Covid-19 specific stress, IPV, and discrimination experiences were associated with higher drinking frequency at Time 1 and Time 2. Neither general stress nor depression symptoms were associated with drinking frequency. Results of a multiple regression analysis indicate that only Covid-19 specific stress (p = .044) and IPV (p = .034) were associated with higher drinking frequency at Time 2 when controlling for Time 1 drinking frequency. Drinking frequency did not differ based on race or gender. Among those who reported alcohol use at Time 1, 21.7% reported that their drinking increased since Covid-19 began, 23.2% reported that it decreased, and 55.1% reported that it did not change. At Time 2, 24.3% of reported that their drinking increased since Time 1, 22.8%reported that it decreased, and 51.3%reported that it did not change. Conclusions: Results provide insight into the psychosocial stressors that are associated with drinking frequency during the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, findings indicate that Covid-19 specific stress and IPV predict more frequent drinking one year later, after accounting for baseline drinking. Interestingly, general stress and depression symptoms were not associated with drinking frequency. Covid-19 specific stress and IPV are notable public health issues, and also have implications for problem drinking behavior further, highlighting the importance of targeting them in prevention and intervention programming.