Drinking alcohol alone is not good, especially for young women – Duluth News Tribune

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Drinking alone is not a good idea. A new

study

shows that tipping back alcoholic beverages by yourself in adolescence and young adulthood increases the risk of alcohol use disorder later in life. And the risk is especially high for women.

“Most young people who drink do it with others in social settings,” says Dr. Kasey Creswell, lead author and associate professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. “But a substantial minority of young people are drinking alone. Solitary drinking is a unique and robust risk factor for future alcohol use disorder.”

Health care providers often screen for risky alcohol use. But their questions are often just about quantify and frequency. Creswell says the context in which people drink is also critical.

The researchers looked at surveys about patterns of alcohol use from approximately 4,500 adolescents. Then they followed them for 17 years. About 25% of adolescents and 40% of young adults reported drinking alone.

The researchers say their findings suggest that targeted interventions may help inform young people about the risks of solitary drinking.

The study is published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

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