Alcohol consumption, alcohol expectancies, and drinking contexts in young Argentinean college students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a one-year follow-up study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns are known to affect alcohol consumption. This study examines drinking expectancies and contexts upon alcohol consumption of Argentinean students.Objectives: To assess within-person changes in alcohol consumption in Argentinean college students (aged 18-24), from August 2019 with a one-year follow-up during the COVID-19 lockdown, considering alcohol expectancies, drinking contexts, and main socio-demographic variables. To validate the stability of these predictors, we discuss the effects on the alcohol consumption across dependent and independent measures.Methods: We assessed one longitudinal (N = 300, 70% female) and one cross-sectional (N = 165, 78% female) sample via online surveys and applied multilevel analysis and regressions, respectively.Results: Alcohol consumption significantly increased during lockdown compared to one-year before (mean: 6.91 and 8.26 alcohol units, correspondingly). In the longitudinal sample, social facilitation (medium effect sizes [ES]: 0.21, 0.22) and parental presence (medium ES: 0.12, 0.21) significantly and stable (through time) predicted increasing effects on consumption. In the cross-sectional sample, stress control (high ES: 0.78) and parental presence (high ES: 0.42) were associated with higher consumption during lockdown.Conclusion: College students increased their alcohol consumption during lockdown, suggesting that restrictive sanitary measures may negatively affect consumption. Literature is not conclusive as both decreases and increases in alcohol consumption in students from developed countries were reported. Before and during COVID-19 lockdown, parental presence is a stable predictor of increased alcohol consumption, though unusual according to the literature. Health policies aimed at modifying the behavior of parents who promote/share alcohol consumption with their offspring may help reduce drinking in college students.

Levels and predictors of depression, anxiety, and suicidal risk during COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina: the impacts of quarantine extensions on mental health state.

This research is aimed to: analyze differences in mental health state (MHS) indicators (depression, state-anxiety, trait-anxiety, and suicidal risk), during three quarantine sub-periods (starting since the first quarantine extension); assess multiple relationships between each MHS indicator and potentially affecting factors. We used a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample including 1100 participants. Data were collected online. Depression revealed a worsening pattern as quarantine sub-periods went by. Anxiety (both state and trait), just like suicidal risk, partially follow such a pattern, with mean scores increasing from the first to the second/third quarantine extensions, but then maintaining to the fourth extension. Predictors having protective effects on almost all the MHS indicators were: availability of current economic income (except for state-anxiety, without significant effect) and absence of suicide attempt history. Conversely, sex (woman), younger age, and mental disorder history had an increasing risk effect on all the MHS indicators. Overall, our findings indicate that quarantine have negative mental health impacts and that quarantine duration is a relevant aspect to be taken into account when measuring such an impact. More attention needs to be paid to vulnerable groups such as the young, women, and people with history of mental disorder.

Mental Health Impacts in Argentinean College Students During COVID-19 Quarantine.

Background: We aimed to: (1) analyze differences in both general (in terms of psychological well-being/discomfort, social functioning and coping, and psychological distress) and specific (depression, trait-anxiety, negative alcohol-related consequences, and suicidal risk) mental health state (MHS) in college students, residing in four different Argentinean regions (center, north, south, and the most populated) exposed to different spread-rates of the COVID-19; (2) analyze between-group differences in both general and specific MHS indicators at four quarantine sub-periods (twice prior, and twice following the first quarantine extension). Methods: We used a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample including 2,687 college students. Data was collected online during the Argentinean quarantine. We calculated one-way between-groups ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test. Results: Regionally, the center and the most populated area differed in psychological well-being/discomfort and negative alcohol-related consequences, but not in the remaining MHS indicators. According to the quarantine sub-periods, there were differences in psychological well-being/discomfort, social functioning and coping, psychological distress, and negative alcohol-related consequences. Negative alcohol-related consequences were the only MHS indicator improving over time. For all of the remaining MHS indicators, we found a similar deterioration pattern in the course of time, with mean scores decreasing from the first to the 2nd week of the quarantine pre-extensions, then increasing toward the 1st week of the quarantine post-extension (with some MHS indicators reaching mean scores worse than the start), and then continued to increase. Conclusion: A worsened mean MHS during quarantine suggests that quarantine and its extensions contribute to negative mental health impacts.

General Mental Health State Indicators in Argentinean Women During Quarantine of up to 80-Day Duration for COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: Argentinean quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most long-lasting worldwide. We focused on the first 80-days of this quarantine on Argentinean women. Our aims were to analyze differences in general mental health state (MHS) indicators, by the (1) sites of residence with different prevalence of COVID-19 cases, and (2) quarantine duration; (3) to assess multiple relationships between each general MHS indicator and potentially affecting factors. Methods: We used a cross-sectional design with convenience successive sampling (N = 5,013). The online survey included a socio-demographic questionnaire (elaborated ad hoc) with standardized and validated self-reported questionnaires (General Health Questionnaire, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale) measuring the MHS indicators: self-perceived health, psychological discomfort, social functioning and coping, and psychological distress. Results: Worse self-perceived health and higher psychological discomfort affected significantly more women residing in sites with high prevalence of COVID-19 cases, compared to those residing in sites with intermediate prevalence, but effect sizes were small. Mean scores of all general MHS indicators were significantly worse for longer quarantine sub-periods (up to 53, 68, and 80-day duration) than for shorter sub-periods (up to seven, 13, and 25-day duration). Being a younger age, having mental disorder history, and longer quarantine durations were associated to worsening MHS, while the lack of previous suicide attempt has a protective effect. Discussion: Our findings show that a worse MHS during quarantine may not be attributed to the objective risk of contagion (measured greater or less), and under quarantine, women MHS-as indicated by group central tendency measures-got worse as time went by. This strongly suggests that special attention needs to be paid to younger women and to women with history of mental disorder. Along with physical health, mental health must be a priority for the Government during and after quarantine and the COVID-19 pandemic.