Understanding People's Experiences of Taking Part in Dry January, 2022

Dry January is a temporary abstinence campaign during which people are encouraged to abstain from drinking alcohol for the month of January and use this time to reflect on their relationship with alcohol. The ‘official’ Dry January campaign in the UK has been run by Alcohol Change UK since 2013. Previous observational studies have found that participation in Dry January is associated with a reduction in alcohol consumption six months later (de Visser et al., 2016; de Visser & Piper, 2020). However, in order to abstain from alcohol consumption during Dry January and make ongoing changes to their drinking people are often required to negotiate challenges to their non-drinking. This study aimed to develop our understanding of people’s experiences of using strategies to try and avoid drinking alcohol during and following Dry January. We aimed to build on previous research and explore how, why and in what context different strategies were used and their perceived impact on peoples drinking and other social practices.