Assignment Task: Critique or describe why you agree with the following analysis. Please state any drawbacks of the study that has been referenced. What could have been done differently to or what other questions could have been asked to confirm a more accurate study regarding binge-drinking?
Binge Drinking Study
In this study they are studying Portuguese college students and their alcohol consumption before, during, and post Covid-19 lockdown. In the midst of the pandemic, numerous governments imposed lockdowns and issued warnings about social segregation in an effort to flatten the COVID-19 infection curve. These efforts to prevent social interaction might influence healthy behavior, including alcohol use. The influence of such measurements on young people' alcohol consumption and binge drinking (BD) and how they relate to levels of alcohol desire, stress, anxiety, and depression are, however, virtually ever supported by scientific research. By performing a longitudinal research with 146 Portuguese college students-regular binge drinkers, infrequent binge drinkers, and non-binge drinkers-during three distinct periods of time-prior to the pandemic, during lockdown, and six months later- they were able to answer these issues. The findings showed that regular BDs reduced their alcohol intake during Lockdown, a behavior shift that was even more pronounced after Lockdown, when regular BDs showed comparable levels of consumption to infrequent/non-BDs. Furthermore, alcohol usage during Lockdown was predicted by alcohol cravings and living with friends, but stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms did not help explain changes in drinking behavior. Overall, the findings imply that BD in young Portuguese college students can be prevented when the circumstances where alcohol use often occurs are reduced, which may have significant ramifications for upcoming preventive and therapeutic measures.
Moreover, in this study a sample of college students was surveyed over the course of a year using a longitudinal design. A classroom survey with 300 participants was administered and completed using paper and pencil. These people were contacted after the pandemic began and requested to take part in a follow-up research on their drinking habits in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak by completing a private, self-administered online survey on Qualtrics. And this is how they gathered their information all the way through.
Lastly, I feel like the weakness in this study was not using a better way of gathering their data. I don't particularly feel like all 300 students would put down everything 100% to how they feel or how much they drank out of embarrassment. Had I done this study, I would use another approach and gather factual health information as well to not only know how they are feeling but how they are internally too. That being said, I would have also asked them how they felt internally and then compared how their health was.