Observing Types and Successes of Alcohol Cessation Attempts Among Young Sexual and Gender Minority People Assigned...

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people assigned male at birth (AMAB) report high alcohol use, binge drinking, and alcohol problems. However, little is known about how SGM people AMAB may reduce or cease alcohol use, and the resources they draw upon to do so. The overarching aim of this report is to describe the types, frequencies, and relative success of attempts to quit/cut down on alcohol among a large sample of SGM people AMAB enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study. Participants 17-29 years old (N=939) were drawn from a longitudinal cohort of SGM people AMAB (RADAR), between 2015 and 2022. Participants completed self-reports of alcohol use, problems, and cessation attempts at up to 14 visits, separated by 6 months each. Results showed that alcohol use was high; between 16.2 and 29% of individuals at each wave displayed scores above the clinically-validated cutoff (≥8 total score) on the AUDIT. Few participants attempted to stop drinking during the study (88.9% reported no cessation attempts). A smaller percentage (9.4%) reported cessation once, while fewer (1.7%) reported cessation attempts on two separate occasions. Few participants made use of existing resources to assist in a cessation attempt, and individuals who made attempts to reduce their alcohol consumption, in comparison to those who did not, reported higher alcohol use. In all, these findings point to an unmet need with regard to alcohol cessation support in SGM people AMAB, and the lack of affirming and accessible treatment options may be contributing to continuing health inequities.