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Contexts of Drinking & Alcohol‑Related COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place and Related Orders – and Order Compliance – on Adolescent Alcohol Use in California

March 30, 2023

New research from the Prevention Research Center of Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation finds that COVID-19 shelter-in-place (SIP) orders may not have directly affected adolescent alcohol use or the places where alcohol was used while longer term, modified reopening orders were associated with decreased past 6-month quantity of alcohol use. Individual compliance with such orders may be a protective factor for alcohol use.

Longitudinal data on alcohol use were gathered from 1,350 adolescents in California. Questions about alcohol use included how often and in what quantity alcohol was used in the past month and six-month periods. Questions about where alcohol was used included restaurants, bars/nightclubs, outside, one’s own home, another’s home, and fraternities/sororities. Data on compliance with orders in essential businesses and in outdoor/social settings were also assessed.

Results indicated that:

  • Being under a modified reopening order was associated with decreases in past 6-month quantity of alcohol used.
  • Higher self-reported compliance with SIP orders related to social outdoor/social settings was associated with decreases in overall drinking frequency and quantity as well as decreases in frequency and quantity of drinking in all spaces in the past six months.
  • Compliance with SIP orders affecting essential businesses and retail spaces was associated with decreased frequency and quantity of drinking at other’s home and outdoors.

In sum, study results indicate that that SIP and modified reopening policies may not directly affect adolescent alcohol use or drinking contexts, but that individual compliance with such orders may be a protective factor for alcohol use.

PRC Study lead author Dr. M. Kristina Wharton notes: “Targeting less policy-compliant adolescents for alcohol use prevention programming may be advisable if restrictive orders or similar conditions are re-enforced in future waves of variants of the coronavirus or new pandemics.”

Source:  Wharton, M. Kristina, Anna Balassone, Sue Thomas, Ryan Treffers, Mallie J. Paschall, Lee Lam, and Sharon Lipperman-Kreda. “Covid-19 Shelter-in-Place, Modified Reopening Orders, and Order Compliance Impact on Adolescent Alcohol Use and Drinking Contexts in California: A Longitudinal Analysis.” Addictive Behaviors (2023): 107707. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460323001028?dgcid=author

PRC in the News

Society for Prevention Research Lauds Dr. Brenda Miller

May 23, 2022

Dr. Brenda Miller receives SPR/EUSPR Awards

Brenda A. Miller, Ph.D. of PIRE- PRC has been recognized with two recent awards:

The Society for Prevention Research 2022 Service to SPR Award in recognition of her service to the International Committee.

The European Society for Prevention Research’s 2021 Sloboda Medal for the development of Prevention Science in Europe.

The Society for Prevention Research’s Recognition and Honors Committee with nominations from the membership of the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) has selected Brenda A. Miller, Ph.D.  to receive the 2022 Service to SPR Award in recognition of her many years of service to the International Committee, advancing the field of prevention science, and outstanding service to the Society.  In 2021, she was awarded the European Society for Prevention Research Sloboda Medal for her longstanding record of personal achievements and sustained contribution to the development of Prevention Science in Europe and Internationally.

We are multi-disciplinary scientists who work to understand the large systems and specific contexts that affect health behaviors, especially the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

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Recent Releases

  • Contexts of Drinking & Alcohol‑Related COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place and Related Orders – and Order Compliance – on Adolescent Alcohol Use in California
  • Contexts of Drinking & Alcohol‑Related Problems among Whites and Hispanics on the California/Mexico Border
  • PRC Announces Renewal of its NIAAA Center Grant:  Environmental Approaches to Prevention
  • Alcohol, Youth, Drinking Locations, and Public Health Outcomes
  • COVID-19 Restrictions & Adolescent Tobacco Use
  • Youth Nicotine & Cannabis Vaping during the COVID-19 Pandemic Shutdown

Territorial Acknowledgment

We would like to acknowledge that at Prevention Research Center’s Berkeley office we work in unceded Huichin Ohlone territory.

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center@prev.org
Prevention Research Center
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Berkeley, CA 94704-2642
Tel: (510) 486-1111

PRC Highlights

Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation

PRC is a center within the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation (PIRE), an independent, nonprofit organization merging scientific knowledge and proven practice to create solutions that improve the health, safety and well-being of individuals, communities, and nations around the world.

Resource Link for Community Action

Resource Link for Community Action provides information and practical guidance that communities can use to prevent alcohol and other drug misuse.

For more information, contact Sue Thomas.

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Prevention Research Center is a center of Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Visit the main PIRE website at: https://www.pire.org