Drinking Motives and Increased Alcohol Use Among Latino Populations during COVID-19

Background and Purpose: Latino/a Americans’ alcohol consumption rates have changed over time and are more prevalent than the national average since the Covid-19 pandemic. In the past year, 26% of Latino American drinkers engaged in heavy drinking (at least once a month) and 51% of Puerto Rican women in the U.S. participated in binge drinking, the highest among any Hispanic group by far. Studies have also shown that Hispanic adults who drink, tend to drink more heavily than other ethnicities. Mexican and South/Central American men who drink, binge drink at a rate of 46% and 42% respectively. Few studies are yet to examine alcohol consumption patterns since Covid-19 across multiple Latino/a subgroups. This study aims to examine the reasons or motives why participants from different Latino subgroups engaged in increased levels of alcohol consumption during Covid-19. This data can be used to develop effective educational interventions and programs addressing alcohol use for this population.

Methods: Data for this study came from a survey collected online in fall 2021. Participants were adults Latino/as and the survey questions asked about various health topics. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted to analyze the relationship between motivations to drink and changes in alcohol consumption during Covid-19 among three Latino subgroups. The analytic sample included n=779 participants aged 18 years or older (M=1.76, SD=.43). The dependent variable was changes in alcohol consumption, measured as increased use and decreased use. Motivations to drink were recoded into two categories: pleasure seeking and pain avoidance. Three Latino subgroups included in this study were participants that identified as Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Central American.

Results: Regression results indicated there was a statistically significant increase in alcohol consumption for participants who reported pain-avoidance as their motives for drinking, compared to those who reported drinking for pleasure seeking.Results for Mexican participants indicated the overall model was significant Х²=35.987(df=2, p = < .001). , There was a 71% increase in likelihood of alcohol consumption for Mexican participants who reported consuming alcohol during Covid-19 for pain avoidance. The overall model for participants from Central America were also significant, Х²=13.723(df=2, p = < .001). There was a 49% increase in likelihood of alcohol consumption for Central American participants who reported consuming alcohol during Covid-19 for pain avoidance. For participants that identified as Puerto Rican, there were no statistically significant findings for motivations to drink.

Conclusions and Implications: These findings suggest pain avoidance motives were associated with increased alcohol consumption for both Mexican and Puerto Rican participants, compared to those who reported drinking for pleasure seeking. Latino Americans engage in alcohol use is essential for the reduction of excessive drinking and alcohol-related harms. The current study