Credit: Rutgers Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies PISCATAWAY, NJ - When college campuses closed in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the quantity of alcohol consumed by students decreased significantly if they went from living with peers to living with parents, according to a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Leaving home for college is often associated with increases in drinking, and campus closures in spring 2020 formed "the perfect natural experiment" to study changes in drinking behaviors when living situations changed abruptly and unexpectedly for many students, according to lead researcher Helene R. White, Ph.D., distinguished professor emerita with the Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.