The question is, then, why would those who spent the strictest periods of the lockdown on their own report different drinking patterns, if it is not due to feelings of social isolation? Results suggest that other mechanisms may operate, e.g. higher family support may buffer the negative effects of the lockdown that could otherwise lead to higher alcohol consumption (Wardell et al., 2020, Valente et al., 2021). Alternatively, other mediators may be at play, e.g. boredom, which has been shown to be one of the main stressors during the pandemic (Yan et al., 2021), as well as a risk factor for alcohol abuse (Kuerbis et al., 2018). The fact that parents with children at home reported the lowest alcohol consumption during the strictest periods of the lockdown seems to point in that direction, as they certainly did not have time to be bored.
