How many children live with persons with problematic drinking patterns across 19 European countries?

Abstract

The harm from others’ drinking alcohol is well documented by researchers in different countries and with different cultural backgrounds across the world. Studies highlighted the use of alcohol in a problematic way as a crucial factor for a child’s normal physical, emotional, and social development. This study estimated the prevalence of children living with at least one person with a problematic drinking pattern (PPDP) in the household in 19 European countries. Furthermore, it examined age and gender differences in the prevalence of PPDP. Data from the Standardized European Alcohol Survey project (RARHA SEAS-1) and Eurostat was used to calculate the prevalence of children living with at least one PPDP. A four-item version of the Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen test was applied. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were conducted with SPSS. The prevalence of children living together with a PPDP varied from 6.2% in Italy to 35.2% in Lithuania. The total number of children living with PPDP was estimated to 9,271,150 in 19 European countries in 2015. The number of children living in an environment with PPDP is particularly high. Research in this area is important to bring this issue to policy agendas.