Research & Resources

The present study examined longitudinal associations between physical activity and alcohol use in a sample of young adults. The study was a secondary analysis of 383 college students who reported their drinking behaviors at 3-month assessments over an approximately 2-year period. Self-reported physical activity was examined for the first 9 months, and drinking was assessed over 21 months. Analyses revealed that increases in the intensity of physical activity over the first 9 months predicted increases in drinking over the same time period; predictions over the subsequent year, however, were insignificant. Conversely, increases in alcohol use over the first 9 months were associated with concurrent increases in duration of physical activity.

This paper, “Longitudinal relations between physical activity and alcohol consumption among young adults,” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and published in the journal Psychology of addictive behavior.