1 in 3 Americans binge drink during the coronavirus pandemic, Newsweek says study shows
By: Cecile Janssens
Tags: Science, News, Alcohol, Covid 19, Coronavirus

A new study shows that people who drink alcohol at home tend to drink more during the coronavirus crisis. Newsweek mentions that “1 in 3 Americans said they had consumed alcohol at harmful “binge drinking” levels during the coronavirus pandemic,” but cautions that the data was self-reported.

Photo by Mikhail Tyrsyna on Unsplash

1 in 3?

Self-report data means that the researchers asked participants, for example, “how many glasses of alcohol do you drink per week?” without checking whether the answer is correct. Self-report data is common in scientific research as it is merely undoable to verify all study data. Checking the data is time-consuming and expensive and would be too much of a hassle for the participants.

The problem with self-report data is that people may under-report or over-report how much alcohol they consume. When some people accidentally report more glasses than they actually drink and others less, then the misreporting is random. In that case, the estimate of 1 in 3 may still be correct. When heavy drinkers report fewer glasses and young people report more, then the heavy drinkers’ percentage may be inaccurate.

Fortunately, researchers know from past research who will likely under- or over-report alcohol use. They can use this knowledge to guestimate whether the percentage will be higher or lower than what the study showed. Self-report data is a problem, but the results may still be informative if interpreted with caution.

This study had a bigger problem that was hinted at in the press release.

Americans?

The press release describes that “nearly a third (32%) of participants reported binge drinking”. Nearly a third, or 32%, is 1 in 3, but participants are not evidently “Americans.”

When researchers want to know the drinking habits of “Americans,” they should ask a group representative of the American population. If 1 in 3 drink binge-drinking amounts in that population, then it is assumed that 1 in 3 Americans are binge drinkers.

Recruiting a representative population is a challenge, no matter whether researchers want to learn about all Americans, all university students, all visitors of a museum, or all shoppers in a mall. Whether researchers succeeded depends on how they invited the study participants. Is it likely that their invitations recruited a representative population?

In the scientific article, I read that “From mid-March to mid-April 2020, a web-based, 15-minute, self-report questionnaire was disseminated through the authors’ university, department, lab, and private social media accounts (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and to relevant e-mail distribution lists (e.g., American Public Health Association, Society of Behavioral Medicine).”

That does not reach a random sample of the American population. And that’s why the last line of the press release reads: “in addition [to the limitation of data being self-reported], the majority (70%) of participants were relatively high earners, a factor already associated with hazardous alcohol use. The authors say future research is needed in a more ‘generalizable population’.”

Sending invitations through academic personnel and professional organizations’ connections reaches people with higher education and higher salaries. And even among them, only those interested in filling out online surveys will respond. Had the researchers used other channels for promoting their survey, they would have recruited different participants and, likely, get different results. If the study population is not representative, then the percentage of binge drinkers in the US population may not be 32% but 20% or 40%, or even higher or lower.

It may be that 1 in 3 Americans are binge drinkers during the coronavirus pandemic. Or more. Or fewer.