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We conducted a longitudinal study to examine person-centered heterogeneity in problem drinking risk during the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. We aimed to differentiate high- from low-risk subgroups of drinkers during the pandemic, to report on the longitudinal follow-up of the baseline sample reported in Wardell et al. (Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 44, 2020, 2073), and to examine how subgroups of drinkers differed on coping-related and pre-pandemic alcohol vulnerability factors.Canadian alcohol users (N = 364) were recruited for the study. Participants completed surveys at four waves (spaced 3 months apart), with the first being 7 to 8 weeks after the COVID-19 state of emergency began in Canada. The data were analyzed using a parallel process latent growth class analysis followed by general linear mixed models analysis.We found evidence for three latent classes: individuals who increased drinking (class 1; n = 23), low-risk drinkers (class 2; n = 311), and individuals who decreased drinking (class 3; n = 30). Participants who increased (vs. those who decreased) problem drinking during the pandemic struggled with increasing levels of social disconnection and were also increasingly more likely to report drinking to cope with these issues. Those in the increasing class (relative to low-risk drinkers) reported increasing levels of depression during the study. Relative to low-risk drinkers, participants in the increasing class had higher pre-pandemic AUDIT scores, greater frequency of solitary drinking, and higher alcohol demand. Interestingly, participants in the decreasing class had the highest pre-pandemic AUDIT scores.We examined longitudinal data to identify subgroups of drinkers during the pandemic and to identify factors that may have contributed to increased problem drinking. Findings suggest that while most of the sample did not change their alcohol use, a small portion of individuals escalated use, while a small portion decreased their drinking. Identifying the vulnerability factors associated with increased drinking could aid in the development of preventative strategies and intervention approaches.

Background: Emerging adulthood is associated with heavy drinking. Despite overall heavy use, studies show considerable heterogeneity in emerging adult drinking habits. Lau-Barraco and colleagues (2016 b) identified three subtypes (high, moderate, low) of emerging adult heavy drinkers based on patterns of use across common drinking situations. Heavy situational drinkers had more alcohol problems, mental health symptoms, and coping/conformity motives for alcohol use.Objective: Our goal was to replicate and extend the aforementioned study, expecting to find the same subgroups, then examining whether certain risk factors predicted subgroup membership.Methods/Results: Undergraduates (N = 497) completed online self-report measures and a latent profile analysis (LPA) found support for three similar subtypes; low, "moderate" (higher endorsement of pleasant emotion/social pressure situations, relative to the low group), and high. Univariate ANOVAs, followed by pairwise comparisons, found that heavy situational drinkers scored highest on measures of alcohol problems, problem gambling, drug use, depression, and anxiety compared to the other two groups, and consistent with previous findings.Conclusions: This study showed that emerging adults who drink heavily across various situations are likely to engage in other addictive behaviors and struggle with mental health symptoms. Identifying one's personal risk factors and their riskiest drinking situations is critical for developing targeted intervention programs and increasing the understanding of the heterogeneous nature of drinking behaviors in emerging adults in Canada.