INCREASING AGGRESSION AND ALCOHOL USE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH INSOMNIA AND COVID-19: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OVER THE FIRST YEAR OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created a range of unprecedented socioeconomic and cultural stressors novel to a world of increasing globalization and interconnectivity. Many studies have since emerged evaluating the impact of such stressors on various mental health measures. In this study, 13,313 individuals from across the United States were surveyed for a variety of neurocognitive battery assessments including self-report measures of aggression, insomnia symptoms, and alcohol use. Approximately 1,000 participants were surveyed per month beginning in April 2020 and concluding in April 2021 and were additionally asked to report their current COVID-19 diagnosis status. The potential for a correlative link between aggression and alcohol use that is modulated by COVID-19 diagnosis and symptoms of insomnia was evaluated though univariant ANOVA and linear modelling. Significant interactions between insomnia and aggression were noted with greater insomnia symptoms corresponding to greater aggression scores and a similar trend also noted in alcohol use. Additional interactions between insomnia symptoms and COVID-19 diagnosis with both aggression and alcohol were noted. Linear modelling revealed increasing correlation between alcohol and aggression in individuals with insomnia symptoms and/or positive COVID-19 diagnosis. The subset affirming both clinical insomnia symptoms and current COVID-19 diagnosis exhibited the greatest Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.692). These results suggest a correlative link between aggression and alcohol use which can be mediated by symptoms of insomnia and knowledge of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.