Work–family–self-care and day drinking among women during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

The term “day drinking” is used colloquially to refer to drinking alcohol during daytime hours and has become part of the vernacular surrounding alcohol use. Anecdotal evidence is suggestive of increased day drinking among women during the COVID-19 pandemic, but empirical studies are few. This study assessed changes in the time of day women consumed alcoholic beverages during the pandemic and investigated whether their difficulty balancing work, family, and self-care was associated with the initiation of daytime drinking.

Methods

In June of 2020, 546 women age 25 and older completed an online survey regarding their drinking behaviors pre- and post-COVID-19, perceived stress, COVID-19 anxiety, and degree of difficulty managing work, family, and personal care. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed associations between variables, controlling for women's sociodemographic characteristics.

Results

Women shifted to drinking earlier in the day with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific increase in daytime drinking. Difficulty managing work, family, and self-care was associated with significantly greater odds of initiating day drinking, but perceived stress and COVID-19 anxiety were not.

Conclusions

Alcohol consumption is harmful to women's health. In addition to work and family roles, researchers should continue to explore how self-care affects women's alcohol use, and specifically temporal patterns, especially in times of crisis.