Poster #85 - The Importance of Psychosocial Context When Examining Exposure to Parental Alcohol Consumption Among Youth

• In Event: Poster Session 18

Abstract

The evidence for adverse effects of exposure to parental alcohol consumption on children’s wellbeing is clear (e.g., Cleaver et al., 2011): Children of parents that consume more alcohol are more likely to suffer from mental health problems (Ramstedt et al., 2022), behavioral- (Raitasalo et al., 2019) and social problems (Wangensteen et al., 2019). Despite overwhelming evidence, the effect size estimate of parental alcohol consumption effects on children’s wellbeing is relatively small (r=.13; Kuppens et al., 2020) and the variability in long-term outcomes is large.

We know very little about mechanisms, buffering factors, or other parental qualities that mediate the effects of exposure to parental alcohol consumption (e.g., Clayborne et al., 2021) and research that identifies such qualities is largely missing (e.g., Bugeja & Galea, 2022). Yet, we know that parents, including their personal- and parenting qualities, are central components in children’s psychosocial environment and that effects of dysfunctional parenting alone are complex and enormous (e.g., Liu et al., 2020).

The primary drivers of dysfunctional parenting are stress and poor mental health (Fonseca et al., 2020). Firstly, stress increases risks for inter-parental conflicts and disrupted parenting (Masarik & Conger, 2017). Stressed parents also consume more alcohol (Wolf et al., 2021). Secondly, higher parental anxiety levels and depressive symptoms have detrimental effects on children’s wellbeing (Apsley & Padilla-Walker, 2020). Again, such parents are more likely to have higher alcohol consumption (e.g., Jacob et al., 2021). The presumptive interplay between parental alcohol consumption, mental health, parenting style, and child wellbeing (e.g., Gémes et al., 2019) emphasizes that research investigating effects of parental alcohol consumption need to consider other parental factors concomitantly. Yet, research on dysfunctional parenting has not included parental alcohol consumption, even though it might be a factor related to diminished responsiveness and sensitivity to the child’s needs. In parallel, research on children’s exposure to parental alcohol consumption has not sufficiently related it to dysfunctional parenting.

To address this, the primary aim for this study is to better understand children’s unique experiences by identifying factors in their environments that have amplified, concurred with, or protected against the effects of exposure to parental alcohol consumption. Using interviews, we will focus on mapping the experiences of having parents who consumed high levels of alcohol. The respondents will be a self-selected sample of youths (n=12 to 16) with childhood experiences of parental alcohol consumption. The semi-structured interviews will be conducted at the University campus, and recorded and transcribed verbatim to text. Analyses of single respondents’ data will be conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis to examine subjective personal experiences and perceptions of parental qualities and psychosocial factors. These analyses will thus allow us to better understand, encapsulate, and more effectively communicate subjective themes from idiographic data. Importantly, we will also compare data across respondents to identify possibly generalizable commonalities in children who grow up with alcohol consuming parents.

Findings from this study will be of clinical importance and serve as complimentary empirical groundwork for planned future quantitative investigations.

Author

• Kahl Hellmer, Uppsala universitet
  Presenting Author