Voluntary temporary abstinence from alcohol during "Dry January" and subsequent alcohol use
- PMID: 26690637
- DOI: 10.1037/hea0000297
Voluntary temporary abstinence from alcohol during "Dry January" and subsequent alcohol use
Abstract
Objective: Research suggests that temporary abstinence from alcohol may convey physiological benefits and enhance well-being. The aim of this study was to address a lack of information about: (a) correlates of successful completion of a planned period of abstinence, and (b) how success or failure in planned abstinence affects subsequent alcohol consumption.
Method: 857 British adults (249 men, 608 women) participating in the "Dry January" alcohol abstinence challenge completed a baseline questionnaire, a 1-month follow-up questionnaire, and a 6-month follow-up questionnaire. Key variables assessed at baseline included measures of alcohol consumption and drink refusal self-efficacy (DRSE).
Results: In bivariate analysis, success during Dry January was predicted by measures of more moderate alcohol consumption and greater social DRSE at baseline. Multivariate analyses revealed that success during Dry January was best predicted by a lower frequency of drunkenness in the month prior to Dry January. Structural equation modeling revealed that participation in Dry January was related to reductions in alcohol consumption and increases in DRSE among all respondents at 6-month follow-up, regardless of success, but indicated that these changes were more likely among people who successfully completed the challenge.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that participation in abstinence challenges such as Dry January may be associated with changes toward healthier drinking and greater DRSE, and is unlikely to result in undesirable "rebound effects": very few people reported increased alcohol consumption following a period of voluntary abstinence.
(c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
Similar articles
-
Short- and Longer-Term Benefits of Temporary Alcohol Abstinence During 'Dry January' Are Not Also Observed Among Adult Drinkers in the General Population: Prospective Cohort Study.Alcohol Alcohol. 2020 Jun 25;55(4):433-438. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agaa025. Alcohol Alcohol. 2020. PMID: 32391879
-
Temporary abstinence during Dry January: predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy.Psychol Health. 2020 Nov;35(11):1293-1305. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2020.1743840. Epub 2020 Mar 27. Psychol Health. 2020. PMID: 32216557
-
I think I can't: drink refusal self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between self-reported drinking identity and alcohol use.Addict Behav. 2014 Feb;39(2):461-8. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.10.009. Epub 2013 Oct 9. Addict Behav. 2014. PMID: 24220248 Free PMC article.
-
What is Dry January?Br J Gen Pract. 2016 Jan;66(642):32. doi: 10.3399/bjgp16X683173. Br J Gen Pract. 2016. PMID: 26719465 Free PMC article. Review. No abstract available.
-
One-month alcohol abstinence national campaigns: a scoping review of the harm reduction benefits.Harm Reduct J. 2022 Mar 4;19(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s12954-022-00603-x. Harm Reduct J. 2022. PMID: 35246148 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Process evaluation of the Belgian one-month-without alcohol campaign 'Tournée Minérale': a mixed method approach.BMC Public Health. 2024 Feb 5;24(1):383. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17941-z. BMC Public Health. 2024. PMID: 38317089 Free PMC article.
-
Sober Curiosity and Participation in Temporary Alcohol Abstinence Challenges in a Cohort of U.S. Emerging Adults.J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2024 Mar;85(2):201-209. doi: 10.15288/jsad.23-00137. Epub 2023 Oct 30. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2024. PMID: 37917023
-
Characterizing Twitter chatter about temporary alcohol abstinence during "Dry January".Alcohol Alcohol. 2023 Nov 11;58(6):589-598. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agad057. Alcohol Alcohol. 2023. PMID: 37652745
-
Temporary abstinence challenges: What do we need to know?Drug Alcohol Rev. 2023 Jul;42(5):1087-1091. doi: 10.1111/dar.13625. Epub 2023 Feb 19. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2023. PMID: 36808783 Free PMC article.
-
Using Natural Language Processing to Explore "Dry January" Posts on Twitter: Longitudinal Infodemiology Study.J Med Internet Res. 2022 Nov 18;24(11):e40160. doi: 10.2196/40160. J Med Internet Res. 2022. PMID: 36343184 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical