Does why we drink alcohol matter? A cross-sectional study investigating associations between alcohol drinking motives and alcohol-free and low-alcohol drink consumption amongst adults in Great Britain.

IntroductionThe UK has promoted increasing the availability of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks (no/lo, ≤1.2% ABV) as a public health strategy. To be effective, no/lo beverages must replace, and not supplement, standard alcoholic drinks. Emerging qualitative evidence suggests the reasons people drink alcohol may be important when investigating the potential public health impact of these drinks. This has not yet been explored quantitatively. This study aimed to determine whether alcohol drinking motives were associated with no/lo consumption after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics and alcohol consumption.MethodsA cross-sectional sample of adults residing in Great Britain (aged 16-93) who had drunk alcohol in the past year were recruited via the Alcohol Toolkit Study (N = 2555; 49.0% female). The dependent variable was frequency of no/lo consumption (less than/ at least monthly). Five questions captured respondents’ alcohol drinking motives (enhancement, social, conformity, coping-anxiety, coping-depression). Sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, social grade, education, index of deprivation) and hazardous alcohol use (AUDIT-C) were included in the analyses. The proportion of respondents who reported drinking no/lo at high and low levels of endorsement of each drinking motive is presented. Quasibinomial regression modelling explored relationships between alcohol drinking motives and no/lo consumption, accounting for sociodemographic characteristics and hazardous drinking. ResultsDrinking alcohol to conform was the only drinking motive associated with no/lo consumption after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics and hazardous drinking (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.00-1.21, p=0.041). A higher frequency of drinking alcohol to conform was associated with an increased probability of drinking no/lo at least monthly. Conclusions No/lo drinks may be a useful substitute for those wishing to reduce their alcohol consumption whilst avoiding pressure to conform to social norms. Those drinking alcohol to conform were not typically higher-risk drinkers, which may limit the public health benefit of no/lo drinks.