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

Siri H. Haugland and Tobias H. Elgán
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Siri H. Haugland: Department of Psychosocial Health, University of Agder, 4876 Grimstad, Norway
Tobias H. Elgán: STAD, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, 113 64 Stockholm, Sweden

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-10

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%, ? 2 (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%, ? 2 (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.

Keywords: parental alcohol use; social gradient; Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-6); prevalence; adult survivors of adverse life events (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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