Instagram, risky drinking and main health effects in Spanish adolescents in the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between Instagram, alcohol consumption and the impact on adolescent health during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: A qualitative study was carried out with 13 focus groups, involving 38 interviews. The fieldwork was conducted between January and December 2021 using a semi-structured script with three main categories. The research was carried out by a team specialized in adolescent risks and qualitative research. RESULTS: Three main categories were established: (1) The COVID-19 pandemic, Instagram and Risky Drinking, (2) Risk prevention and control strategies and (3) Effects on health. The participants (n = 118) reported greater alcohol consumption among Instagram users, either because this social media platform was used to spread the practice of alcohol consumption, or because they were affected by the content posted by digital marketers, Instagrammers, and/or contacts on Instagram. More than half of the sample (67.8%) had health problems (loss of control, headaches, difficulty in breathing, trembling, anxiety attacks, vomiting, tiredness, blackouts, and absence seizures), of whom 35% required urgent attention from their parents and/or the health services. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to prevent risky drinking related to the use of social networking sites (SNSs) and its main health effects.

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.

Testing an mHealth System for Individuals With Mild to Moderate Alcohol Use Disorders: Protocol for a Type 1 Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial.

BACKGROUND: The extent of human interaction needed to achieve effective and cost-effective use of mobile health (mHealth) apps for individuals with mild to moderate alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains largely unexamined. This study seeks to understand how varying levels of human interaction affect the ways in which an mHealth intervention for the prevention and treatment of AUDs works or does not work, for whom, and under what circumstances. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim is to detect the effectiveness of an mHealth intervention by assessing differences in self-reported risky drinking patterns and quality of life between participants in three study groups (self-monitored, peer-supported, and clinically integrated). The cost-effectiveness of each approach will also be assessed. METHODS: This hybrid type 1 study is an unblinded patient-level randomized clinical trial testing the effects of using an evidence-based mHealth system on participants' drinking patterns and quality of life. There are two groups of participants for this study: individuals receiving the intervention and health care professionals practicing in the broader health care environment. The intervention is a smartphone app that encourages users to reduce their alcohol consumption within the context of integrative medicine using techniques to build healthy habits. The primary outcomes for quantitative analysis will be participant data on their risky drinking days and quality of life as well as app use from weekly and quarterly surveys. Cost measures include intervention and implementation costs. The cost per participant will be determined for each study arm, with intervention and implementation costs separated within each group. There will also be a qualitative assessment of health care professionals' engagement with the app as well as their thoughts on participant experience with the app. RESULTS: This protocol was approved by the Health Sciences Minimal Risk Institutional Review Board on November 18, 2019, with subsequent annual reviews. Recruitment began on March 6, 2020, but was suspended on March 13, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Limited recruitment resumed on July 6, 2020. Trial status as of November 17, 2021, is as follows: 357 participants were enrolled in the study for a planned enrollment of 546 participants. CONCLUSIONS: The new knowledge gained from this study could have wide and lasting benefits related to the integration of mHealth systems for individuals with mild to moderate AUDs. The results of this study will guide policy makers and providers toward cost-effective ways to incorporate technology in health care and community settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04011644; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04011644. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/31109.

Shifts in alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic: early indications from Australia.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption is currently unclear. This study aimed to provide early estimates of how stress and demographics will interact with shifts in harmful alcohol consumption from before the COVID-19 outbreak to 2 months into social distancing. DESIGN: Cross-sectional convenience sample. SETTING: Australia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1684 Australians aged 18-65 years who drink at least monthly. MEASUREMENTS: Items from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the stress subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). FINDINGS: Overall, harmful drinking decreased during social distancing measures in our sample [2019 score = 8.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 7.9-8.4; during the pandemic = 7.3, 95% CI = 7.1-7.6]. Younger drinkers, particularly young women, decreased their consumption the most, but there was a small increase in consumption in middle-aged women. Drinkers experiencing high levels of stress also reported a relatively higher shift in harmful consumption compared with those with low levels of stress (ß = 0.65, P = 0.003), despite reporting a small decrease overall. CONCLUSIONS: The closure of licensed premises and social distancing measures in Australia in response to the COVID-19 outbreak appear to have reduced harmful alcohol consumption in younger drinkers, particularly young women.

Alcohol Consumption in China Before and During COVID-19: Preliminary Results From an Online Retrospective Survey.

Background: Alcohol is an important aspect of Chinese culture, and alcohol use has been traditionally accepted in China. People with stress, anxiety, and depression may use more alcohol. More people reported symptoms of anxiety and depression during the outbreak of COVID-19. Thus, people may drink more alcohol during the outbreak of COVID-19 than before COVID-19. Methods: An online retrospective survey was conducted on a total sample of 2,229 participants. Drinking behaviors before and during COVID-19, current risky drinking and hazardous drinking, and the association between high-risk drinking and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and stress) were assessed via self-reported measures on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Results: This study found that, compared with before COVID-19, alcohol consumption was slightly decreased during COVID-19 (from 3.5 drinks to 3.4 drinks, p = 0.035) in the overall sample. Most (78.7%) alcohol drinkers were males. Before and during COVID-19, males consumed more drinks per week (4.2 and 4.0 vs. 1.3 and 1.2 drinks), had a higher percentage of heavy drinking (8.1 and 7.7% vs. 4.4 and 2.7%), and more drinking days per week (2.1 and 2.1 vs. 1.0 and 0.9 days). Males also had more risky drinking (43.2 vs. 9.3%) and hazardous drinking (70.2 vs. 46.6%) than female counterparts. This study also found that high-risk drinking predicted anxiety in females. Conclusions: This study suggests a slight reduction in alcohol consumption during COVID-19. However, hazardous drinking is common, especially among male alcohol drinkers. Males consumed more alcohol, had more risky and hazardous drinking than female counterparts both before and during COVID-19. Public health policy makers should pay more attention to developing effective, population-based strategies to prevent harmful alcohol consumption.