According to data from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 68% of adults ages 21 and older in the United States drink alcohol.1 At the same time, researchers believe that the recent “sober-curious” movement may be encouraging some people to reevaluate their relationship with alcohol and the impact that drinking can have on their health.2
Being sober curious, or SC, focuses on a more mindful approach to alcohol consumption. The movement encourages people to examine how much, when, and why they drink alcohol. By focusing attention on health and well-being, engaging in SC approaches may provide opportunities to help people make informed decisions about their drinking behavior.
In a similar vein, some people are choosing to engage in observances, such as “Dry January” or “Sober October,” in which people take a break from alcohol consumption. During these breaks, people often share their experiences of going alcohol-free through social media platforms, like Instagram and Facebook. Researchers call these alcohol-free intervals “temporary alcohol abstinence challenges,” or TAACs. Research from international contexts, primarily in the United Kingdom and Australia, has found that TAAC participants may be motivated by concerns about the effects of alcohol on their health. Many of these TAAC participants report benefits, such as positive effects on sleep, weight, and self-rated health, and reduced levels of alcohol consumption following a TAAC.
A recent study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) examined participation in TAACs and the SC movement among young adults ages 18–29 in the United States. Researchers from RAND and the University of Southern California conducted the study.3
The researchers surveyed 1,659 young adults who were in their mid-20s. Past research has shown that young adults often engage in high-risk drinking behaviors, such as binge drinking. Young adults also have some of the lowest rates of treatment engagement for alcohol-related problems.
The survey assessed the characteristics of these young adults and their awareness of and engagement in the SC movement or TAACs. Overall, 9% of the young adults surveyed were familiar with the SC movement, and 7% had participated in a TAAC in the past year. Young adults who were familiar with both the SC movement and TAACs were more likely to have engaged in recent heavy drinking, had higher Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)* scores, were more likely to have recently used cannabis, experienced more alcohol and cannabis consequences in the past year, and were more likely to have received substance use treatment in the past year. These young adults also reported greater readiness to reduce or stop drinking.
The findings also showed that half of TAAC participants reported drinking less following the challenge. Even after the challenge period concluded, 15% of participants reported they continued alcohol abstinence.
Among young adults who received any treatment for substance use in the past year, a third were aware of the SC movement, and almost one in five had participated in Dry January or similar abstinence challenges.
The study authors concluded that both the SC movement and TAACs have the potential to engage young adults who want to stop or reduce their alcohol consumption. Both the SC movement and TAACs focus on well-being and the benefits of behavior change and, thus, share elements with evidence-based, brief behavioral interventions, such as motivational interviewing. The growing popularity of these movements may also help to destigmatize non-drinking for people who choose not to drink in certain social settings. Taken together, the study findings suggest that SC- and TAAC-like movements may be versatile and effective in changing drinking behavior among young adults.
In addition, abstinence challenges in particular may help encourage young adults to consider entering treatment for alcohol misuse. The authors noted that coordinated TAAC initiatives could integrate referrals to sustained, evidence-based treatment interventions that support people in reducing or eliminating their alcohol consumption during and after the TAAC period.
The authors believe that future research in this area could help gauge the efficacy of the SC movement and TAACs, and identify approaches that may be more effective in linking young adults to interventions and resources to help them reach their goals.
“The sober-curious phenomenon, as well as TAACs, provide opportunities for individuals to evaluate their relationship with alcohol,” said NIAAA Director George F. Koob, Ph.D. “Many people need help for alcohol use disorder or alcohol misuse, and these movements have helped to create a cultural space for exploring and changing their drinking behavior.”
* The AUDIT, developed by the World Health Organization, is a simple method of screening for excessive alcohol use and assessing for alcohol-related problems.
References:
1 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Table 2.26B—Alcohol use in past year: among people aged 12 or older; by age group and demographic characteristics, percentages, 2022 and 2023. [cited 2024 Jul 30]. Available from: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2023-nsduh-detailed-tables
2 Lamb S. Bartender, make mine a mocktail. Young Americans are drinking less. Will alcohol-related diseases decline? [Internet]. Harvard Public Health. 2024 Jan 3 [cited 2024 Jun 27]. Available from: https://harvardpublichealth.org/policy-practice/can-the-sober-curious-trend-change-u-s-alcohol-consumption/
3 Siconolfi D, Tucker JS, Pedersen ER, Perez LG, Dunbar MS, Davis JP, Rodriguez A, Seelam R, D’Amico EJ. 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):201-9. PubMed PMID: 37917023
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This article first appeared in NIAAA Spectrum.
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