A masked bar owner serves beer during the pandemic. (Getty Images) An increasing number of studies show that one way of coping with pandemic-induced stress, boredom, stress or isolation is drinking. A study from RAND Corporation showed Americans’ alcohol consumption rose in every age group. And women report the heaviest increases, saying their episodes of heavy drinking — four or more drinks in a few hours — increased by 41%. Another study reports drinking doubled among parents with kids ages 5 to 7. Vanessa Kennedy, director of clinical psychology at Driftwood Recovery in Texas, says she’s been seeing a “significant uptick” in stress-related drinking during the pandemic.