Alcohol drinking patterns among parents and long-term health and social consequences among their children
This project will study the long-term effects of various forms of parental drinking patterns in regard to their children’s mental health, substance use and workforce non-participation.
About the project
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Project period: 02.01.2015 - 15.01.2024 (Concluded)
- Coordinating Institution: Norwegian Institute of Public Health
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Project Manager:
- Ingunn Olea Lund, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
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Project Participants:
- Trond Nordfjærn, NTNU University Library, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Eivind Ystrøm, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Anne-Marie Laslett, Turning point
- Priscilla Martinez, Alcohol Research Group
- Thomas K. Greenfield, Alcohol Research Group
- Anne Bukten, Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research, University of Oslo
- Marte Handal, Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Svetlana Ondrasova Skurtveit, Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Inger Synnøve Moan, Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Ingeborg Margrete Rossow, Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Elisabet Esbjerg Storvoll, Mental and Physical Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Jasmina Burdzovic, Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Fartein Ask Torvik, Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Geir Scott Brunborg, Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Summary
The main aim of this project is to study the putative long-term effects of various forms of parental drinking patterns in regard to their children’s mental health, substance use and workforce non-participation
Background and motivation:
A fairly extensive literature shows that children whose parents suffer from alcohol use disorder (AUD) are at increased risk for various health and social problems, including substance use problems, mental health problems and unemployment. However, much less is known about how children are affected by parental alcohol consumption other than clinically diagnosed alcohol problems. This project addresses a poorly researched, yet important topic concerning the impact of more normative patterns of parental drinking on child long-term outcomes.
The primary aim is to investigate the putative long-term effects of parental drinking in regard to their children’s mental health, substance use and workforce non-participation using the combined survey and register data. We will take into account important factors such as parental mental health, gender and social inequality, while controlling for early adolescent problems (such as early substance use and/or mental health problems in children).
The project moves beyond the traditional approach of using a single data source, e.g. survey data alone or registry data alone to examine long-term health and social outcomes among children of parents in the general population with varying degrees of alcohol use and abuse. We combine existing survey data available for family triads (mothers, fathers - and children) with prospective nationwide registry data (available longitudinally for child health and social outcomes).
In sum, this general population longitudinal cohort design offers the unique opportunity to connect and analyze detailed information on parental drinking obtained from survey data with long-term child outcomes obtained from continuously updated nationwide registries.