Solitary drinking: a risk factor for alcohol‐related problems?

Abstract

This paper investigates whether solitary drinking is a risk factor for alcohol-related problems using data from a general population of drinkers in Montréal, Canada. Three indicators of solitary drinking were used: (1) having had a drink alone; (2) frequency of solitary drinking; and (3) having had five drinks or more in a solitary setting. Among the 2015 respondent drinkers of a telephone survey, 31% reported drinking alone, of whom 27% did so more than once a week, and 17% had had five drinks or more alone at least once. Problems with family or social relationships, physical health, work, budget, physical security and happiness or view of life, self-reported as being alcohol-related, were measured by seven binary items. Strong positive associations were found at the univariate level between overall alcohol-related problems and both solitary drinking and having had five or more drinks alone, whereas frequency of solitary drinking had no effect. Only the relationship with having five or more drinks alone remained statistically significant in logistic regressions controlling for potential confounders. No evidence was found that solitary drinking per se is a risk factor for alcohol-related problems unless large quantities of alcohol are involved.

Context counts: Solitary drinking explains the association between depressive symptoms and alcohol-related problems in undergraduates

“…Drinking in non-normative contexts is conceptualized as particularly harmful (Bourgault & Demers, 1997). Solitary drinkers report earlier onset of regular alcohol use, lower motivation to reduce excessive use, and more alcohol-related problems relative to primarily social drinkers (Christiansen et al, 2002;Gonzalez et al, 2009).…”

“…At university events, peers encourage each other to use alcohol heavily (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 2001). Without social companions to facilitate heavy drinking (Bourgault & Demers, 1997), solitary drinkers may be able to limit their use to some degree, but given their coping reasons for use, they remain at risk for alcoholrelated problems. Moreover, there was a lack of association between depressive symptoms and intimate drinking.…”

The place of drink: Geographical contributions to alcohol studies

“…Religion and identity (Neff & Husaini, 1985); solitary drinking (Bourgault & Demers, 1997), young people and designer drinks Macintosh et al, 1997) and identity and the pub (Smith, 1983) have also been pertinent topics studied in local, regional or national contexts.…”

A Retrospective Analysis of Psychosocial Risk Factors Modulating Adolescent Alcohol Binge Drinking

“…Coping motives were also associated with binge drinking. Concerning drinking alone, Bourgault and Demers [48] found that adults drinking alone were at increased risk for alcohol-related problems only if large quantities were consumed. Gonzalez et al [49] simultaneously studied these two aspects in a sample of young adults (aged 18-20 years), showing that drinking to cope was associated with drinking heavily while being alone.…”