Paternal and maternal alcohol abuse and offspring mental distress in the general population: the Nord-Trøndelag health study

BMC Public Health

Kristian Tambs²  Espen Røysamb¹  Helga Ask²  Fartein Ask Torvik²  Kamilla Rognmo² 

[1]Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, PO BOX 1094, Blinderen, 0317, Oslo, Norway

[2]Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO BOX 4404, Nydalen, N-0403, Oslo, Norway

关键词: Population study;    Anxiety/depression;    Families;    Mental distress;    Maternal/paternal alcohol abuse;   

Others  :  1163527
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-12-448

 received in 2011-11-04, accepted in 2012-06-06,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

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. 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.

Methods

Data 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.

Results

Maternal 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.

Conclusions

The 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.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Rognmo et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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