Physical and social context changes due to the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic modified alcohol consumption in a sample of Argentine college students

CARREIRA CARO, CS; LIETTI, AE; BUJÁN,GE; FORMOSO, J; PILATTI, A; GUELMAN, LR; MOLINA, SJ

Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Congreso; SAN 2022 Meeting; 2022

Considering that alcohol consumption (AC) is highly prevalent in college students (CS) and can cause health alterations, it is relevant to identify risk factors that might promote AC, such as drinking contexts. Thus, this work aimed to study the role of drinking contexts, including the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in promoting AC in CS of Buenos Aires. Argentinean CS (N= 1762; 74.8% women; Mean age= 23.25 ± 2.64) completed an online survey that assessed AC and drinking contexts before and during the lockdown. Different statistical analyzes were performed, including Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and ANOVA. LCA identified a 6-classes model for drinking contexts that showed different AC patterns, both in terms of quantity and frequency. Results show that several contexts were associated with AC in CS, but especially those related to social gatherings with peers. Additionally, the vast majority of CS use alcohol in a wide range of contexts -including intimate contexts as well- and present a more problematic and less flexible pattern of AC. Furthermore, the lockdown modified drinking contexts and decreased AC in most cases. In conclusion, alcohol is widely used by CS in a plethora of contexts, which is worrying considering that it can induce health disturbances. Moreover, it is important to consider not only the influence of drinking contexts on AC but also diverse social aspects such as the lockdown -that could modify contexts and their influence on AC- to devise prevention and intervention strategies to reduce AC.