Drinking alcohol alone during adolescence can increase the risk of alcohol use disorders later in life.
- About 25% of adolescents and 40% of young adults reported drinking alcohol alone.
- Young people consume alcoholic beverages alone to deal with negative emotions.
“Is drinking alone in adolescence and early adulthood associated with heavy drinking at age 35?” This is the question posed by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh (United States). In order to answer it, they carried out work, the results of which were published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Women are more at risk
For the purposes of the study, the researchers analyzed data from a cohort, called “Monitoring the Future”, on drug and alcohol use among young Americans. The latter involved 4,464 adolescents aged 18 and 4,561 young adults aged 23 and 24. All participants, who were followed for 17 years, had to complete a survey about their drinking habits. They also had to indicate if they drank it alone.
According to the results, adolescents and young adults who reported drinking alone had an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorders at age 35. Clearly, they are more likely to consume excessively as they age. The authors found that the odds of experiencing eating disorder symptoms in their 30s were 35% higher in teens who drank alone and 60% higher in young adults who drank alone. This risk was particularly high in women, according to the team.
“A significant minority of young people drink alone”
“Most young people who drink do so with other people in a social setting, but a significant minority of young people drink alone. Solitary drinking is a unique and strong risk factor for future alcohol-related disorders. Even after taking into account well-known risk factors, such as excessive alcohol consumption, frequency of alcohol consumption, socioeconomic status and gender, we find that alcohol consumption drinking alone in youth predicts drinking problems in adulthood”, said Kasey Creswell, lead author of the study, in a statement.