Alcohol- and Cigarette-Use-Related Behaviors Across Gender, Dysfunctional COVID-19 Anxiety, and the Presence of Probable ADHD During the Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Sample of Turkish Young Adults

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the alcohol-and cigarette-use-related behaviors among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Turkey. The second objective was to evaluate whether the gender, dysfunctional COVID-19 anxiety, and presence of probable attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are associated with the increase in alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking while controlling the effects of current age and diagnosis of anxiety disorder before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: The study was conducted with an online survey among volunteer participants of young adults. The Adult ADHD Self Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) were used to evaluate a group of university students.

Results: A total of 1,042 respondents (mean age 26.9 +/- 10.9 years; 61.6% female) filled out the survey. Of these, 17.6% reported an increase and 7.7% reported reduced cigarette smoking, whereas 10.8% reported an increase and 8.5% reported reduced alcohol consumption during the pandemic. Both rates of increased cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption were higher among males and those with probable ADHD. In the logistic regression analyses, male gender, COVID-19 related dysfunctional anxiety, and presence of probable ADHD were related to the increase in alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking, while the current age and diagnosis of anxiety disorder before the COVID-19 pandemic were not.

Conclusion: Findings of the current study may suggest that the pandemic period is related to both anv increase and a reduction of alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. Males with probable ADHD and higher levels of COVID-19 related dysfunctional anxiety have a higher risk of increasing both alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking.