“My drinking was way worse during the pandemic”: A qualitative analysis of contextual and individual factors impacting alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic

Our results suggest that environmental forces may have interacted with individuals' emotions to shape alcohol use motivations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work helps to contextualize quantitative research on changes in alcohol use observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. More research is needed to determine the long-term impacts of pandemic era changes in alcohol use. It is also necessary for future studies to examine how such impacts may manifest differently across the U.S. population (e.g., among racial/ethnic minority individuals).