Investigating Relationships Between Drinking Venues, Drinking Companions, and Corporal Punishment of Children

Using ecological momentary assessments to understand how drinking during special occasions relates to parenting behaviors

BACKGROUND

Drinking on special occasions (e.g., Super Bowl, Christmas) often results in more alcohol consumed. Further, police often report higher levels of crime, such as assaults and domestic violence, on days of major sporting events (e.g., Super Bowl, World Cup). Yet, drinking behaviors of parents during special occasions or large sporting events have not been assessed for their effects on parenting behaviors. Here, we assess the relationship between drinking during the Super Bowl and on Valentine's Day to determine whether they differ.

METHODS

Participants, recruited from social media, completed a 40-min baseline survey and 14 days of three daily Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) about parenting. Two hundred fifty-five participants (with 684 EMAs) were enrolled on the Super Bowl and 184 (492 EMAs) were enrolled on Valentine's day. Measures of parenting include aggressive, punitive, and nonpunitive discipline and positive techniques. Drinking was assessed on days 7 and 14 of the EMA and corresponded to the EMA time frame during the previous week. Participants were largely White, well-educated mothers. Data were analyzed using multilevel logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Parents who reported drinking on the day of the Super Bowl were more likely to use aggressive discipline (OR = 2.560; 95% CI: 1.308, 5.150) and punitive parenting (OR = 2.701; 95% CI: 1.394, 5.257) during the time that drinking occurred. In contrast, parents who reported drinking on Valentine's Day were less likely to use aggressive discipline (OR = 0.197; 95% CI: 0.077, 0.502).

CONCLUSIONS

The differential relationship between drinking and parenting measures could be the result of differing norms or differences in who is present during the special occasions studied here. Identifying and understanding how alcohol use on special occasions contributes to parenting could help to create environments that are most conducive to positive parenting behaviors and reduce harms related to harsh or aggressive parenting.

Sequencing drinking events and use of punitive, nonpunitive, and positive parenting behaviors with ecological momentary assessment

BACKGROUND

The relationship between alcohol use and parenting is primarily predicated on use of both past year drinking and parenting behaviors, making it difficult to develop prevention and intervention efforts that target alcohol-related maltreatment. Here, we assess the sequencing of parenting behaviors in relation to alcohol use (e.g., whether punitive parenting and alcohol use occur simultaneously).

METHODS

Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, a convenience sample of parents was asked to take three brief surveys daily (at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m.) for 14 days. If the parent was with the focal child, they were asked to identify whether they had used one of six randomly assigned parenting behaviors (punitive, nonpunitive, or positive). Alcohol use was queried at the 9 p.m. survey on days 7 and 14. Logistic multilevel models were used to analyze the data.

FINDINGS

Parents reported less nonpunitive parenting during the time in which they reported drinking, and less positive parenting behaviors on the morning after the drinking occurred.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents may be less attentive to children's behavior while drinking, or they may be less inclined to find that behavior needing correction. Drinking may reduce the likelihood of positive parenting the next day if parents are feeling hungover or have negative aftereffects from drinking. These parents may want to explicitly have another adult provide caregiving duties during the drinking event or plan drinking when it is less likely to cause the least amount of harm (e.g., when children are in bed).