{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T15:13:25Z","timestamp":1790435605949,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,3]],"date-time":"2024-12-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100011568","name":"Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100011568","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"College of Health and Human Development at The Pennsylvania State University"},{"name":"Social Science Research Institute"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Alcohol use, combined with the heightened mental health crisis among college students highlighted during the pandemic, remains a significant public health concern. We examine (1) how college students\u2019 daily assessed sense of <jats:italic>belonging<\/jats:italic> with their institution, a key protective factor for better collegiate mental health, is associated with same-day alcohol-use behaviors (2) and how the associations are moderated by key sociodemographic characteristics relevant to this population (women, minoritized students, first-generation [FG], and students identifying as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer [LGBTQ]) amidst COVID-19.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>We used mixed models using data from a 21-day daily diary study of college students (<jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic> = 2,012) in Spring 2021.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Results revealed that on days when students felt more uncertainty about their sense of belonging to their college (i.e., low belonging), they were less likely to drink, and drink less overall. This effect was observed after students were back on campus after pandemic-related college closures ended. Heterogeneity by minoritized student subgroups were also observed.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>College students\u2019 sense of belonging continues to be an important psychosocial determinant of health and health behaviors among young adults; at times in unintended ways. This reiterates the importance of examining dynamic relationships between belonging and population health.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p><jats:bold>Public health significance statements:<\/jats:bold> These results provide important insight into the linkages between a key psychosocial factor\u2014students\u2019 sense of belonging in college\u2014and their alcohol use patterns amidst COVID-19. Institutional programming and prevention efforts to curb alcohol misuse should be implemented with consideration of how those linkages may differ dynamically considering both between- and within-person variance in belonging.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0310496","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,3]],"date-time":"2024-12-03T18:29:26Z","timestamp":1733250566000},"page":"e0310496","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["College students\u2019 sense of belonging and alcohol use amidst COVID-19: Evidence from a 21-day daily diary study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1013-0672","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maithreyi","family":"Gopalan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jilli","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chiang","family":"Shou-Chun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ashley","family":"Linden-Carmichael","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephanie","family":"Lanza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0310496.ref001","volume-title":"Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health","author":"Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration RN","year":"2019"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1111\/add.13556","article-title":"High\u2010intensity drinking by underage young adults in the United States","volume":"112","author":"ME Patrick","year":"2017","journal-title":"Addiction"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113706","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychres.2021.113706","article-title":"Increased mood disorder symptoms, perceived stress, and alcohol use among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"296","author":"NE Charles","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychiatry research"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106527","DOI":"10.1016\/j.addbeh.2020.106527","article-title":"Changes in alcohol use as a function of psychological distress and social support following COVID-19 related University closings","volume":"110","author":"WV Lechner","year":"2020","journal-title":"Addictive behaviors"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"354","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2020.06.018","article-title":"What does adolescent substance use look like during the COVID-19 pandemic? Examining changes in frequency, social contexts, and pandemic-related predictors","volume":"67","author":"TM Dumas","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Adolescent Health"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"658","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2021.01.008","article-title":"Changes in young adults\u2019 alcohol and marijuana use, norms, and motives from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"68","author":"S Graupensperger","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Adolescent Health"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref007","unstructured":"American College Health Association. The Impact of Covid-19 on College Student Well-being [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2023 Jan 12]. Available from: https:\/\/healthymindsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Healthy_Minds_NCHA_COVID_Survey_Report_FINAL.pdf"},{"issue":"0","key":"pone.0310496.ref008","first-page":"1","article-title":"Sexual assault, sense of belonging, depression and suicidality among LGBQ and heterosexual college students","volume":"0","author":"I Backhaus","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Am Coll Health"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0310496.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2016632118","article-title":"Lifestyle and mental health disruptions during COVID-19","volume":"118","author":"O Giuntella","year":"2021","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0310496.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0267724","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0267724","article-title":"Change in college student health and well-being profiles as a function of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"17","author":"ST Lanza","year":"2022","journal-title":"PLOS ONE"},{"issue":"0","key":"pone.0310496.ref011","first-page":"1","article-title":"Comparison of anxiety and depression rates among LGBTQ college students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"0","author":"B Parchem","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Am Coll Health"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0310496.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2022942","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2020.22942","article-title":"Changes in Adult Alcohol Use and Consequences During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US","volume":"3","author":"MS Pollard","year":"2020","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0310496.ref013","first-page":"171","article-title":"Changes in Alcohol Use Patterns in the United States During COVID-19 Pandemic","volume":"119","author":"N Boschuetz","year":"2020","journal-title":"WMJ Off Publ State Med Soc Wis"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1540","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.01540","article-title":"Psychological Impact and Associated Factors During the Initial Stage of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Among the General Population in Spain","volume":"11","author":"R Rodr\u00edguez-Rey","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0310496.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.1089\/lgbt.2020.0187","article-title":"Addressing the Disproportionate Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sexual and Gender Minority Populations in the United States: Actions Toward Equity","volume":"7","author":"G Phillips","year":"2020","journal-title":"LGBT Health"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106465","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ypmed.2021.106465","article-title":"Addressing the critical need for long-term mental health data during the COVID-19 pandemic: Changes in mental health from April to September 2020","volume":"146","author":"CB Veldhuis","year":"2021","journal-title":"Prev Med"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0310496.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1068","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(19)30222-6","article-title":"Psychiatric comorbidities in alcohol use disorder","volume":"6","author":"A Castillo-Carniglia","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet Psychiatry"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0310496.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2021.10.010","article-title":"College Students\u2019 Sense of Belonging and Mental Health Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic","volume":"70","author":"M Gopalan","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Adolesc Health"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0310496.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"497","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.117.3.497","article-title":"The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation","volume":"117","author":"RF Baumeister","year":"1995","journal-title":"Psychol Bull"},{"issue":"29","key":"pone.0310496.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"eaba4677","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.aba4677","article-title":"A customized belonging intervention improves retention of socially disadvantaged students at a broad-access university","volume":"6","author":"MC Murphy","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci Adv"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315297293","volume-title":"College students\u2019 sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students","author":"TL Strayhorn","year":"2018"},{"issue":"6023","key":"pone.0310496.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1447","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1198364","article-title":"A Brief Social-Belonging Intervention Improves Academic and Health Outcomes of Minority Students","volume":"331","author":"GM Walton","year":"2011","journal-title":"Science"},{"issue":"24","key":"pone.0310496.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"E3341","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1524360113","article-title":"Teaching a lay theory before college narrows achievement gaps at scale","volume":"113","author":"DS Yeager","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0310496.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.3102\/0013189X19897622","article-title":"College Students\u2019 Sense of Belonging: A National Perspective","volume":"49","author":"M Gopalan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Educ Res"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref025","article-title":"Lack of Belonging Predicts Depressive Symptomatology in College Students","author":"JM Dutcher","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol Sci"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.15288\/jsa.2003.64.331","article-title":"Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: a meta-analytic integration","volume":"64","author":"B Borsari","year":"2003","journal-title":"Journal of studies on alcohol"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"720","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jesp.2009.04.001","article-title":"A diary study of implicit self-esteem, interpersonal interactions and alcohol consumption in college students","volume":"45","author":"T DeHart","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Social Psychology"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"343","DOI":"10.1016\/j.addbeh.2009.12.003","article-title":"Whose opinion matters? The relationship between injunctive norms and alcohol consequences in college students","volume":"35","author":"JW LaBrie","year":"2010","journal-title":"Addictive behaviors"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref029","article-title":"Fluctuation in the sense of belongingness during college moderates within-person associations between perceived injunctive norms and subsequent drinking","author":"C Neighbors","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychol Addict Behav"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"389","DOI":"10.1177\/0093650205275385","article-title":"behaviors are influenced by perceived norms: A test of the theory of normative social behavior","volume":"32","author":"RN Rimal","year":"2005","journal-title":"Communication research"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1353\/csd.2006.0010","article-title":"Alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and quality of life among college students","volume":"47","author":"JG Murphy","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of college student development"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref032","article-title":"Drinking to belong: The effect of a friendship threat and self-esteem on college student drinking","author":"HR Hamilton","year":"2016","journal-title":"Self and Identity"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"340","DOI":"10.15288\/jsad.2019.80.340","article-title":"Needs and norms: Testing the effects of negative interpersonal interactions, the need to belong, and perceived norms on alcohol consumption","volume":"80","author":"HR Hamilton","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0310496.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.92.1.82","article-title":"A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement","volume":"92","author":"GM Walton","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0310496.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"573","DOI":"10.1037\/adb0000865","article-title":"Brief alcohol interventions for young adults: Strengthening effects, disentangling mechanisms, and scaling up for impact","volume":"36","author":"EE Tanner-Smith","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol Addict Behav"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref036","article-title":"Event-level risk for negative alcohol consequences in emerging adults: The role of affect, motivation, and context","author":"JT Waddell","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol Addict Behav"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0310496.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"648","DOI":"10.1037\/adb0000800","article-title":"A scoping review of brief alcohol interventions across young adult subpopulations","volume":"36","author":"JM Cronce","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol Addict Behav"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0310496.ref038","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"324","DOI":"10.2307\/2673270","article-title":"Effects of College Transition and Perceptions of the Campus Racial Climate on Latino College Students\u2019 Sense of Belonging","volume":"70","author":"S Hurtado","year":"1997","journal-title":"Sociol Educ"},{"issue":"120304","key":"pone.0310496.ref039","article-title":"Race and Belonging in School: How Anticipated and Experienced Belonging Affect Choice, Persistence, and Performance","volume":"117","author":"MC Murphy","year":"2015","journal-title":"Teach Coll Rec"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0310496.ref040","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.1093\/esr\/jcy053","article-title":"Why You Should Always Include a Random Slope for the Lower-Level Variable Involved in a Cross-Level Interaction","volume":"35","author":"JP Heisig","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur Sociol Rev"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-70944-0_2","volume-title":"Time-Varying Effect Modeling for the Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences","author":"ST Lanza","year":"2021"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0310496.ref042","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e45689","DOI":"10.2196\/45689","article-title":"Health and Well-Being Among College Students in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Daily Diary Study","volume":"13","author":"ST Lanza","year":"2024","journal-title":"Interact J Med Res"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0310496.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"980","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-021-01143-3","article-title":"Behavioural science is unlikely to change the world without a heterogeneity revolution","volume":"5","author":"CJ Bryan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat Hum Behav"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref044","volume-title":"Considerations for Use of School Belonging Assessments | EdInstruments","author":"K Mayer","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0310496.ref045","volume-title":"Supporting Students\u2019 College Success: The Role of Assessment of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies","author":"National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine","year":"2017"}],"container-title":["PLOS ONE"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0310496","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,3]],"date-time":"2024-12-03T18:29:45Z","timestamp":1733250585000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0310496"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Yadeta","family":"Alemayehu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,3]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,3]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0310496","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,3]]}}}