The Effects of COVID-19 Social Isolation on Binge-Drinking Behaviors in College Students

Alcohol sales have increased drastically during the COVID-19 quarantine (Rehm et al 2020) and people have begun drinking 2-3 more drinks on average, than they did prior to COVID-19 (Lechner et al 2020). We predicted that social isolation due to COVID-19 would negatively correlate with a person\u27s number of binge-drinking episodes. 40 participants completed a survey and answered questions about the number of social contacts they maintain and their drinking habits. Participants took both the AUDIT-C and CAGE-4 questionnaires, which provide an accurate quantifiable value of a person\u27s likelihood to engage in binge-drinking. There was no significant correlation present between social isolation and binge-drinking behaviors. These findings are unlike any similar research studies, but it may indicate that there is not a relationship between isolation and alcohol misuse behaviors