Abstract
In this study, we examined the effects of loneliness, social support, and stress resilience on alcohol consumption and problems among university students in their final years of education during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed 437 students with a pre-pandemic history of heavy episodic drinking across five waves from February 2021 to May 2023. Our findings showed that stress resilience significantly reduced alcohol-related problems over time. Those who frequently drank before the pandemic experienced a slower decline in problems, suggesting a delay in maturing out. Men reported higher hazardous drinking, yet gender did not influence trajectories. Loneliness initially correlated with increased drinking problems, without long-term effects, and social support had no significant impact. Our results highlight that stress resilience is essential for preventing alcohol problems, reveal the persistence of hazardous drinking into later university years, and suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic shifted typical drinking patterns in the Netherlands, marked by significant post-lockdown rebounds.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
