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Health measures instantiated to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have imposed significant constraints for the population and impacted on drinking habits and mental health. This study longitudinally compared changes in alcohol consumption before and after the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact of sociodemographic and mental health variables on such changes among a community sample of young adults. Data were collected in the context of a larger, ongoing longitudinal study. The sample consisted of 305 young adults from Spain aged between 18 and 26 years (mean age = 21.27, (SD = 2.21), female = 53.4%; college students = 61.6%) who completed first (November-2019 and February-2020; i.e., before the outbreak of COVID-19) and second follow-up questionnaires (March 2021, a year after the COVID-19 outbreak). Alcohol use (quantity and drinking frequency), depression and anxiety symptoms were measured. Quantity and frequency of alcohol use decreased from the pre- to post-COVID-19 period. A decrease in drinking frequency was observed among college students, but not in noncollege peers. Although we found no effect of pre-COVID-19 anxiety on alcohol use changes, those with more depressive symptoms at the pre-COVID assessment were more resistant to decreasing their drinking quantity and frequency after the COVID-19 outbreak. This information will be of value when designing interventions aimed at reducing harmful alcohol use and highlights the role of mental health status when identifying high risk populations of young-adults during this, and future, public health crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The socio-health emergency caused by COVID-19 may have a significant psychological impact on the population. For this reason, it is necessary to identify especially vulnerable social groups and protective factors that may reduce this impact, which was the objective of this study., Methods: Using snowball sampling approach, 1,596 people residing in Spain during the lockdown answered an online questionnaire that included information on sociodemographic variables, symptoms, and contact with the disease, risk perception, precautionary measures to prevent infection and coping strategies during lockdown. Psychological impact was assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and mental health status with the Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Simple linear regression models were performed to analyze the associations between the study variables and the psychological impact of the pandemic and the mental health of the participants., Results: Of all respondents, 24.7% reported a moderate or severe psychological impact, and 48.8% showed mental health problems. Women, students and the population with a lower level of economic income, in addition to those having less available space per person in the household presented a more significant psychological impact and worse mental health. Living with someone from the high-risk vulnerable group, and anticipating the adverse economic effects of social-health crisis raised the emotional distress and psychological morbidity. Precautionary measures to prevent infection did not present a connection to the psychological impact of the pandemic; however, several coping strategies did help to reduce it., Conclusions: These findings outline the existence of especially vulnerable social groups to the impact of the pandemic, and suggest lines of action that help reduce the psychosocial consequences of COVID-19., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.