‘Feeling the effects’ : how parental behaviour around alcohol impacts on children

1. ‘Feeling the effects’: how parental behaviour around alcohol impacts on children Jonathan Birdwell Head of Citizenship Alcohol and Families Alliance Learning Seminar 9th October 2014

2. Demos research: overview • Under the Influence, 2010 • Feeling the Effects, 2012 • Feeling the Effects: Romania, forthcoming 2014 • Parenting style  child’s alcohol outcomes? • Parental alcohol consumption  Parenting style  child’s alcohol outcomes?

3. 1. Under the Influence: Aims and methods • Parenting style  child’s alcohol outcomes • 1970 Birth Cohort Study (n=~17,600) • Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n= ~14,500) • Indicators • Parents: affection and rule enforcement indicators • Children: drinking over weekly recommended units in adolescence (age 16) and as an adult (age 34) (BCS, Waves 4 & 7)

4. Parenting style indicators Parents with children aged 2-5, choose between ‘feel never’, ‘feel sometimes’, ‘feel exactly’ (ALSPAC) Rule Enforcement Indicators: • My child should eat whenever s/he asks • I feel exasperated when I cannot calm my child • I am fine with a mess surrounding my child • Whining makes me want to hit my child • The best discipline is a smack • I am afraid I will be violent with my child • I feel desperate when my child is difficult • I feel I am doing the right thing for my child • I am anxious if my child is not eating the right food • Warmth Indicators: • The best way to calm a child is to cuddle • I think toddlers are fun • I really love my toddler • My child gives me great joy • I am glad I had my child when I did • It is unbearable when my child cries • It is a pleasure watching my child grow • I feel anxious if someone else looks after my child • I am worried whether my child eats enough

5. Parenting style indicators • Child, aged 10 (BCS Wave 3, 86% of original sample) Rule Enforcement Indicators: • I am allowed to go to the park/playground alone • I am allowed to play in the street alone • I am allowed to go to the shops alone • I am allowed to go on local buses alone • I tell my parents where I am going • Someone is home after school • I use my own door key to come and go as I want • Warmth Indicators: • My family goes for walks together • My family goes for outings together • My family has meals together • My parents like to hear about my ideas • I feel foolish talking to my parents • Time I spend talking to parents • My mother’s attitude toward me is (Hostile/Dismissive, Balanced, Affectionate)

6. Parenting style indicators • Child, aged 16 (BCS Wave 4, 70% of original sample) Rule Enforcement Indicators: • How strict are your parents with you? • Do parents ask who you are going out with? • Do parents ask where are you going? • Would your parents be upset if you were caught shoplifting something under £10? • In the past 4 weeks I have had drinks with my parents’ knowledge • My parents are overprotective • How would your parents feel if they saw you smoking? • Warmth Indicators: • I do outdoor recreations with my parents • I sit down and eat a meal at home with my parents • My parents are understanding, I can talk to them • My parents are loving/caring/look after me • My parents are helpful/good in a crisis • I do things with both parents together • My feelings about living with my parents

7. Control variables Parental attributes • Ethnicity • Mother’s age at birth • Marital status • Home ownership status • Family income • Education levels • Father’s employment status • Drinking habits • Social classes • Child attributes • Ethnicity • Religious practice • Attitude of morality issues • Birth weight • Education level • Income • Marital status • Employment status • Number of children

8. Parenting style typology Warm LAISSEZ-FAIRE TOUGH LOVE Controlling Permissive DISENGAGED AUTHORITARIAN Hostile

9. Under the Influence: Findings • High levels of parental warmth when the child is under 5 significantly reduce the chances the child will drink excessively at 16. • Disengaged parenting at age 10 and age 16 makes the child twice as likely to drink excessively at age 34. • Disengaged parenting at age 16 makes the child over eight times more likely to drink excessively at that age. • High levels of warmth until the age of 10 and strict discipline (of either the authoritarian or tough love kind) at the age of 16 are the best parenting approaches to reduce the likelihood a child will drink excessively in adolescence and adulthood.

10. 2. Feeling the Effects: Aims and methods • Parental alcohol consumption  Parenting style  child’s alcohol outcomes? • How alcohol abuse impact on parenting, children and family home environment? • 1970 Birth Cohort Study • Indicator: Child’s perception of frequency of parent drinking: never, sometimes, often, always • Interviews with families (Adfam / Addaction) • 50 Families with one alcoholic parent (89 individuals including 26 children / young people) • London, Bristol, Cambridge, Bury, Cumbria, Bridgend in Wales and Glasgow in Scotland

11. Feeling the Effects: Findings • Parents who drink ‘always’ are between 2 and 2.5 times less likely to be ‘tough love’ parents than parents who drink ‘sometimes’. • For mothers, each increase in alcohol consumption increased the likelihood of a mother being a laissez faire style parent by up to 47%. • Mothers who drink ‘always’ are almost 2 times more likely to have children who drink at hazardous levels in adulthoodthan mothers who drink ‘sometimes’. • No effect seen with fathers • Peer drinking is more significant at age 16

12. Feeling the Effects: Findings from family interviews • Majority were single parents and female. • One in five were in stable relationship. • Traumatic upbringings • Half suffered violent or sexual abuse. • Over half grew up with parents or grandparents with alcohol problems • Poor mental health depression, anxiety and agoraphobia • Worklessness • Very few in full-time employment; lack of purpose and structure leading to boredom and drinking

13. Feeling the Effects: Interview findings • Drinking behaviour • Started very young, around 12-13 years old • Drink inside the home. • Key triggers included: relationship breakdown, past traumatic experience, post-natal depression, mental health. • Parenting • Very few parents classified themselves as ‘tough love • Erratic behaviour – sometimes cloying, angry, violent, emotional. • Lack of consistency in terms of parent-child relationship, failure to enforce discipline and stick to commitments

14. Recommendations • Information Awareness Campaigns targeting parents • Pilots in areas with highest alcohol-related harm • Light touch interventions • Identification & Brief Advice (IBA) • Early interventions: training for midwives, GPs, children centres, schools • Family-based interventions • Parenting advice, techniques and support – not just achieving abstinence, alcohol reduction • Give children a voice • Align alcohol support with mental health and worklessness support

15. Thank you www.demos.co.uk Jonathan.birdwell@demos.co.uk @jdbirdwell