Is talk cheap? Correspondence between self‐attributions about changes in drinking and longitudinal changes in drinking during the 2019 coronavirus pandemic

Abstract

Background There are concerns that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic may increase drinking, but most accounts to date are cross‐sectional studies of self‐attributions about alcohol‐related impacts and the accuracy of those perceptions has not been investigated. The current study examined the correspondence between self‐attributions of pandemic‐related changes in drinking and longitudinally‐measured changes in drinking and alcohol‐related consequences in a sample of emerging adults. Methods In an existing ongoing longitudinal study on alcohol misuse (≥1 heavy episodic drinking day/month) in emerging adults, 473 individuals ( M age = 23.8; 41.7% male) received a supplemental assessment from June 17th to July 1st, 2020, during public health restrictions in Ontario, Canada. These intrapandemic data were matched to the most recent assessment prior to the pandemic (~8 months earlier). Self‐attributions about changes in drinking were assessed globally (i.e., increases/decreases/no change) and with higher resolution questions clarifying the magnitude of changes. Results Global self‐attributions about changes in drinking substantively paralleled longitudinal changes in weekly drinking days (DD). In the longitudinal data, individuals’ who self‐reported increases in drinking exhibited significant increases; individuals’ who self‐reported decreases exhibited significant decreases; and individuals who self‐reported no change exhibited nonsignificant changes. Higher resolution items likewise revealed longitudinal patterns of weekly drinking that were substantively consistent with self‐attributions. Heavy DD and alcohol‐related consequences exhibited similar patterns, but only individuals who self‐reported large increases in drinking exhibited increases on these outcomes. Individuals who reported large increases in drinking also exhibited significant increases in depression and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Conclusions Self‐attributions about drinking closely corresponded to longitudinal changes in drinking, supporting the validity of self‐attributions in population‐level surveys, particularly in young adults. Notably, a subgroup was identified that exhibited pronounced increases for all alcohol‐related outcomes and concurrent increases in internalizing psychopathology.

Changes in alcohol use during COVID-19 and associations with contextual and individual difference variables: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

“…However, our results found that there was no difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in the size of effect, and that study quality did not moderate effect size. Further, recent research has demonstrated robust correspondence between subjective self-report measures and longitudinal quantitative self-report methods (Minhas et al, 2021). These points assuage concerns regarding our reliance on longitudinal data.…”

Modeling the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic‐driven increases in alcohol consumption on health outcomes and hospitalization costs in the United States

“…In addition, a follow-up survey with the same sample confirmed sustained increases in consumption [13][14][15], and the other three longitudinal studies conducted in the United States so far [11,12,70], despite not providing detailed information on drinking patterns, also found increases in alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the meta-analysis by Acuff et al (2002) found no difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in the size of the effect, and recent research in Canada revealed longitudinal patterns of drinking that were substantively consistent with self-attributions [71]. A fourth limitation is that our estimates of alcohol consumption may underestimate total consumption, which is a well-known limitation of collecting self-reported data on substance use using surveys [72,73]; however, this approach is still considered reliable for measuring alcohol consumption [74].…”

“…Furthermore, the meta‐analysis by Acuff et al . (2002) found no difference between cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies in the size of the effect, and recent research in Canada revealed longitudinal patterns of drinking that were substantively consistent with self‐attributions [ 71 ]. A fourth limitation is that our estimates of alcohol consumption may underestimate total consumption, which is a well‐known limitation of collecting self‐reported data on substance use using surveys [ 72 , 73 ]; however, this approach is still considered reliable for measuring alcohol consumption [ 74 ].…”

Changes in Alcohol Consumption among Users of an Internet Drug Forum during a COVID-19 Lockdown

“…For example, Killgore et al found an increase in mean AUDIT scores during a lockdown period in a sample recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turn (MTurk) online crowdsourcing platform [ 36 ]. Further, recent research has demonstrated robust correspondence between subjective self-report measures and longitudinal quantitative self-report methods [ 37 ]. The participants who had responded may not be representative of the users of the psychoACTIF Website.…”