What pandemic? A multisite study of drinking motives and drinking games participation among college students during a pandemic (COVID-19) academic year.

A drinking game (DG) is a widely practiced social activity that tends to encourage rapid alcohol consumption. While social restrictions during the pandemic (COVID-19) academic year were implemented as a health measure across many colleges/universities, the extent to which college student drinkers continued to play DGs in-person is not well understood. Because theory and research suggest that drinking motives are proximal correlates of drinking behaviors, we examined which drinking motives increased the likelihood of playing DGs in-person, and playing DGs in-person in a group of 10 + people during the 2020-21 pandemic academic year. College students (past-year drinkers) from 12 universities completed an online survey (N = 900; Mage = 19.42, Range = 18-25; SDage = 1.45, White = 73.1%, 69.2% female). Of the students surveyed, 590 students played DGs, with 460 students only playing DGs in-person. Of the students who played DGs in-person, 274 students reported that the maximum number of people they played DGs with in-person exceeded the CDC's recommended guidelines (10 + people). Accounting for demographics, general alcohol use, and perceived COVID-19 threat, social drinking motives were positively associated with an increased likelihood of playing DGs in-person; the inverse was found for coping motives. Drinking motives were not associated with the likelihood of playing DGs with 10 + people but greater alcohol use and lower perceived threat of COVID-19 were. Given that the pandemic did not deter many student drinkers from playing DGs in-person, further investment in targeted intervention and public health initiatives aimed at substance-free alternatives promoting engagement and enhancement of social activities may be needed.

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

College students have experienced significant disruptions related to COVID-19, and limited international data suggest they may be at elevated risk for mental health symptom increases related to COVID. Given their potentially elevated risk, our aim was to evaluate differences from pre-college closures to post-closure in mental health symptoms, alcohol, and cannabis use. Participants (N = 4749) were from seven U.S. public universities/colleges. They were 70.1 % female and 48.5 % white, non-Hispanic/Latino, with 48.1 % in their first college/university year. 30-day retrospective assessments of alcohol and cannabis use, and past 2-week retrospective assessments of anxiety, depression, anger, and insomnia were captured at the time of the survey. We examined differences between those providing data pre- and post-university closure via linear and negative binomial regressions. Alcohol and cannabis use days were 13 % and 24 % higher, respectively, from pre-to post-university closure; also, prevalence of any 30-day alcohol use and alcohol use consequences were both higher in the post-closure sample (odds ratios = 1.34 and 1.31, respectively). In contrast, days of binge alcohol use were 4 % lower in the post-closing sample. Depressive symptoms and anger were both modestly higher in post-closing participants (d < 0.1), with no differences in anxiety symptoms or insomnia. The modest differences in substance use and mental health from pre-closure through two months post-college closure suggest unexpected resilience in a large and diverse sample of students. College health providers will need to identify those students experiencing the greatest increases in mental health symptoms and substance use, using innovative outreach and treatment.