@article{ref1,
title="Motivations for alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in Islamic Republic of Iran",
journal="Eastern Mediterranean health journal",
year="2022",
author="Fattah, Abolfazl and Khalvati, Maliheh and Abounoori, Mahdi and Molavi, Nader and Azartash, Fatemeh and Babakhanian, Masoudeh",
volume="28",
number="2",
pages="108-113",
abstract="BACKGROUND: High alcohol consumption is an important public health problem, and understanding factors associated with such consumption is essential. AIMS: This study aimed to assess individual and social factors associated with alcohol consumption during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Islamic Republic of Iran. <br><br>METHODS: In this qualitative study, purposive sampling was used to select study participants by sharing the survey link on the Telegram application channels with an Iranian audience during COVID-19. The study was conducted from March to June 2020 and reached all Iranian provinces. We used qualitative content analysis to investigate specific concepts in the responses. <br><br>RESULTS: Of the 116 participants who responded to the survey, 34 (29.3%) were females, and 82 (70.7%) were male. The mean age of the participants was 34.8 years (standard deviation 9.9; range 17-71 years). Most of the participants (75.9%) reported having consumed alcohol, and 56.9% reported having self-medicated for an illness without a doctor's prescription before the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common reason given for alcohol consumption was to relieve stress during home quarantining (32.3%). Based on analysis of the responses, two themes emerged: coping motivations and coping skills, with five subthemes and 14 basic codes. Coping motivations were more powerful than coping skills in relation to high alcohol consumption. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Poor coping skills and strong motivations, combined with misinformation on social media and the internet, appear to have led to new or higher alcohol consumption among survey respondents.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1020-3397",
doi="10.26719/emhj.22.024",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.26719/emhj.22.024"
}