Drinking frequency and quantity remained stable across the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic overall, but non-linear age differences and country-specific patterns emerged, and loneliness unidirectionally predicted subsequent alcohol use quantity.
Key Findings
Results
Overall drinking frequency and quantity remained stable across the first year of the pandemic in this three-country sample.
Data came from the CORAL Study, a three-wave longitudinal study conducted between May 2020 and April 2021.
The sample included 2,369 participants from the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia (mean age 38.81 ± 16.94 years, range 11-100; 90% female).
Measures included pre-pandemic alcohol use and changes in consumption frequency and quantity during the pandemic.
Results
Age was associated with changes in alcohol use in a non-linear way, with the youngest and mid-aged groups most likely to increase consumption.
Individuals aged 11 to 20 years and those aged 50 to 70 years had the highest probability of increased alcohol use frequency and quantity.
The age associations were non-linear rather than monotonic.
Results
Drinking behaviours and motivations (e.g., drinking earlier in the day, drinking for enjoyment) remained largely stable, but age- and country-specific differences emerged.
Behaviours and motivations were assessed during the pandemic alongside consumption.
The authors suggest country differences may reflect policy differences such as alcohol access restrictions and lockdown measures.
Results
Loneliness unidirectionally predicted subsequent alcohol use quantity.
Perceived stress, COVID-19-related stress, loneliness, and depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed across the waves.
The prediction ran from loneliness to later alcohol quantity, not the reverse.
The authors identify loneliness as an important public health issue with implications for alcohol misuse.
Background
The study addressed gaps in prior evidence, which was mixed and limited to the initial periods of the pandemic.
Alcohol sales continued as an essential commodity in many countries despite disruptions to social connections and lifestyles.
The study covered roughly a year, from May 2020 to April 2021, across three waves.
What This Means
This study followed about 2,400 people in the UK, US, and Australia over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (May 2020 to April 2021) to see how their drinking changed and how it related to mental health. Most participants were women, and ages ranged from 11 to 100. On average, how often and how much people drank stayed fairly stable over the year, as did their drinking habits and reasons for drinking.
However, the averages hid differences between groups. Teenagers and young people aged 11 to 20, and people aged 50 to 70, were the most likely to drink more often or in larger amounts. Some patterns also differed by country, which the authors suggest could reflect differences in alcohol access restrictions and lockdown rules.
The study also found that people who felt lonelier later tended to drink larger amounts, while drinking quantity did not predict later loneliness. This research suggests loneliness may be an important factor to consider in efforts to prevent harmful drinking, and that pandemic-related drinking changes varied by age and place rather than affecting everyone the same way. Because the sample was about 90% female, the findings may not apply equally to everyone.
Zhang L, Ton B, Mewton L, Schweizer S. (2026). Alcohol use and its associations with mental health across the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361854