Abstract
BackgroundThe degree to which parental alcohol abuse is a risk factor for offspring mental distress is unclear, due to conflicting results of previous research. The inconsistencies in previous findings may be related to sample characteristics and lack of control of confounding or moderating factors. One such factor may be the gender of the abusing parent. Also, other factors, such as parental mental health, divorce, adolescent social network, school functioning or self-esteem, may impact the outcome. This study examines the impact of maternal and paternal alcohol abuse on adolescent mental distress, including potentially confounding, mediating or moderating effects of various variables.MethodsData from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), a Norwegian population based health survey, from 4012 offspring and their parents were analyzed. Parental alcohol abuse was measured by numerical consumption indicators and CAGE, whereas offspring mental distress was measured by SCL-5, an abbreviated instrument tapping symptoms of anxiety and depression. Statistical method was analysis of variance.ResultsMaternal alcohol abuse was related to offspring mental distress, whereas no effect could be shown of paternal alcohol abuse. Effects of maternal alcohol abuse was partly mediated by parental mental distress, offspring social network and school functioning. However, all effects were relatively small.ConclusionsThe results indicate graver consequences for offspring of alcohol abusing mothers compared to offspring of alcohol abusing fathers. However, small effect sizes suggest that adolescent offspring of alcohol abusing parents in general manage quite well.
Highlights
The degree to which parental alcohol abuse is a risk factor for offspring mental distress is unclear, due to conflicting results of previous research
Previous results suggest that paternal alcohol abuse may represent the strongest risk factor for externalizing problems, whereas maternal alcohol abuse is more strongly associated with internalizing problems [7,8]
The point-biserial correlation between parental mental distress and alcohol abuse was 0.07 for mothers and 0.08 for fathers
Summary
The degree to which parental alcohol abuse is a risk factor for offspring mental distress is unclear, due to conflicting results of previous research. The inconsistencies in previous findings may be related to sample characteristics and lack of control of confounding or moderating factors One such factor may be the gender of the abusing parent. This study examines the impact of maternal and paternal alcohol abuse on adolescent mental distress, including potentially confounding, mediating or moderating effects of various variables. The existing literature concerning the impact on internalizing problems – such as mental distress - show less consistent findings, The gender of the alcohol abusing parent may impact the outcome of the offspring. Previous results suggest that paternal alcohol abuse may represent the strongest risk factor for externalizing problems, whereas maternal alcohol abuse is more strongly associated with internalizing problems [7,8]. The effects of the combined measures of maternal and paternal alcohol abuse may account for some of the inconsistencies in the literature
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