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Associations between solitary drinking and increased alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and drinking to cope motives in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Skrzynski Carillon J.,
Creswell Kasey G.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.15055
Subject(s) - meta analysis , confidence interval , alcohol consumption , alcohol , systematic review , young adult , medicine , psychology , injury prevention , poison control , demography , clinical psychology , medline , environmental health , gerontology , chemistry , sociology , political science , law , biochemistry
Background and aims Emerging evidence suggests that solitary drinking may be an important early risk marker for alcohol use disorder. The current paper is the first meta‐analysis and systematic review on adolescent and young adult solitary drinking to examine associations between solitary drinking and increased alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and drinking to cope motives. Methods PsychINFO, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) methodology and a pre‐registered International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) protocol (no. CRD42020143449). Data from self‐report questionnaires regarding negative correlates of solitary drinking (e.g. alcohol problems) and solitary drinking motives (e.g. drinking to cope) were pooled across studies using random‐effects models. Studies included adolescents (aged 12–18 years) and young adults (mean age between 18 and 30 years or samples with the majority of participants aged 30 years or younger). Results Meta‐analytical results from 21 unique samples including 28,372 participants showed significant effects for the associations between solitary drinking and the following factors: increased alcohol consumption, r = 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.12, 0.33; drinking problems, r = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.32; negative affect, r = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.26; social discomfort, r = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.27; negative reinforcement, r = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.31; and positive reinforcement, r = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.03, 0.17. These associations were not moderated by age group (i.e. adolescent versus young adult), study quality, or differing solitary drinking definitions. Accounting for publication bias increased the effect sizes from r = 0.23 to 0.34 for alcohol consumption and from r = 0.23 to 0.30 for drinking problems, and lowered it from r = 0.10 to 0.06 and r = 0.17 to 0.11 for positive reinforcement and social discomfort, respectively. Conclusions Solitary drinking among adolescents and young adults appears to be associated with psychosocial/alcohol problems and drinking to cope motives.