Prevalence of Parental Alcohol Problems among a General Population Sample of 28,047 Norwegian Adults: Evidence for a Socioeconomic Gradient.

Siri H Haugland,Tobias H Elgán

doi:10.3390/ijerph18105412

Abstract

The aim of the study presented here was to estimate the prevalence of parental alcohol problems during childhood in a general population of Norwegian adults, and to investigate associations between parental alcohol problems during childhood and lower socioeconomic status in adulthood. This cross-sectional study recruited 28,047 adults (≥18 years) to an online health survey (Norwegian Counties Public Health Surveys). We evaluated demographic and socioeconomic measures and responses to a shortened version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-6) scale to assess whether respondents perceived parental alcohol consumption during childhood as problematic. Respondents reported parental alcohol problems at a rate of 15.6%, but the experience was more prevalent among adults with a low education (20.0%), compared to those with intermediate (16.4%) or high educations (13.8%, χ2(2) = 87.486, p < 0.001), and it was more common among respondents with low economic capabilities (21.1%) compared to those with middle/high capabilities (14.2%, χ2(1) = 162.089, p < 0.001). Parental alcohol problems were most prevalent among respondents that received welfare benefits (24.5%). Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed associations between parental alcohol problems and low socioeconomic status in adulthood; odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) ranged from 1.33 (1.25–1.42) to 1.89 (1.72–2.06). From a public health perspective, children who grow up with parental alcohol problems should be reached through both universal and selective interventions.

Highlights

Children who grow up in families where the parents have alcohol problems are at increased risk of several negative consequences, including poor school performance, poor mental health, and early onset alcohol use [1,2,3,4,5,6]
15.6%analysed of the fathers had problems with alcohol use among parents of teenagers. They found that of the alcohol problems, but the proportion offathers had alcohol problems
Our results indicated that the oldest group was least likely thereport questions were retrospective in nature, and recall bias could be a prominent issue parental alcohol problems

Summary

Introduction

Children who grow up in families where the parents have alcohol problems are at increased risk of several negative consequences, including poor school performance, poor mental health, and early onset alcohol use [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Studies have demonstrated that when parents have alcohol problems, their offspring are at increased risk of alcohol-related hospitalization and mortality, including suicide [10,11]. International studies have estimated that the prevalence of children with parents who have alcohol problems is 4–29% [12,13,14,15,16,17]. The primary reason for this broad range is that parental alcohol problems are defined and assessed differently in different studies. Drinking patterns vary across countries, and there may be differences in how alcohol problems are defined

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion