A Biopsychosocial Approach to Examining Alcohol Consumption among Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between biopsychosocial characteristics (age, sex, self-rated health, mental health, parental socio-economic status, family support, teacher support, peer support) and alcohol consumption (weekly alcohol consumption in the past three months, drunkenness in the past three months, and binge drinking in the past month) in adolescents during a crisis event. The study consisted of 1019 Israeli students aged 11–18. Questionnaires were distributed to the students between May and July 2021 during school. Teacher support among those who presented weekly alcohol consumption and drunkenness in the past three months was lower than in those who did not present such behavior. The effects of parental support differed only for drunkenness behavior, with those who engaged in drunken behavior presenting significantly less parental support. Our findings suggest that teacher support and mental health are the two major factors in preventing risky alcohol consumption behavior during a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, among adolescents.