Abstract
BACKGROUND: It is important to understand the motives behind why people want to reduce their alcohol consumption to inform messaging for public health campaigns. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the motives for reducing alcohol consumption among users of the Drink Less app in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Content analysis of Drink Less app users' responses to the prompt "I want to drink less because..." Users were aged 18 years or older, lived in the United Kingdom, and had downloaded the app between May 20, 2016, and June 24, 2024 (n=2520). Inductive content analysis was conducted to analyze users' motives to drink less, and the frequencies were stratified by age, sex, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score categories. RESULTS: The most common motives to drink less were wanting to improve their physical health (1329/2520, 52.7%), feel better in their body (823/2520, 32.7%), improve their mental well-being (567/2520, 22.5%), regain agency (483/2520, 19.2%), live a different life (321/2520, 12.7%), and have better relationships (309/2520, 12.3%). The motives for drinking less,"improve physical health" and "feel better in their body," had a lower prevalence among users in higher AUDIT risk zones compared with low-risk, while wanting to "improve their mental well-being," "regain agency," "live a different life," and "have better relationships" had a higher prevalence among users in higher AUDIT risk zones. CONCLUSIONS: Users of an alcohol reduction app in the United Kingdom most commonly reported wanting to improve their physical health, feel better in their bodies, and improve their mental well-being as their motives for drinking less alcohol. The pattern of prevalence of different motives varied by AUDIT risk zones, highlighting the importance of tailoring interventions based on what is most likely to be motivating for individuals.