Parenthood, alcohol intake, and drinking contexts: occasio furem facit

How is alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking spread across different types of drinking occasion in Great Britain: An event-level latent class analysis

BACKGROUND

This paper aimed to (i) update a previous typology of British alcohol drinking occasions using a more recent and expanded dataset and revised modelling procedure, and (ii) estimate the average consumption level, prevalence of heavy drinking, and distribution of all alcohol consumption and heavy drinking within and across occasion types.

METHODS

The paper uses a cross-sectional latent class analysis of event-level diary data that includes characteristics of 43,089 drinking occasions in 2019 reported by 17,821 adult drinkers in Great Britain. The latent class indicators are characteristics of off-trade only (e.g. home), on-trade only (e.g. bar) and mixed trade (e.g. home and bar) drinking occasions. These describe companions, locations, purpose, motivation, accompanying activities, timings, consumption volume in units (1 UK unit = 8g ethanol) and beverages consumed.

RESULTS

The analysis identified four off-trade only, eight on-trade only and three mixed-trade occasion types (i.e. latent classes). Mean consumption per occasion varied between 4.4 units in Family meals to 17.7 units in Big nights out with pre-loading. It exceeded ten units in all mixed-trade occasion types and in Off-trade get togethers, Big nights out and Male friends at the pub. Three off-trade types accounted for 50.8% of all alcohol consumed and 51.8% of heavy drinking occasions: Quiet drink at home alone, Evening at home with partner and Off-trade get togethers. For thirteen out of fifteen occasion types, more than 25% of occasions involved heavy drinking. Conversely, 41.7% of Big nights out and 16.4% of Big nights out with preloading were not heavy drinking occasions.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol consumption varies substantially across and within fifteen types of drinking occasion in Great Britain. Heavy drinking is common in most occasion types. However, moderate drinking is also common in occasion types often characterised as heavy drinking practices. Mixed-trade drinking occasions are particularly likely to involve heavy drinking.

Women's alcohol consumption in the early parenting period and influences of socio-demographic and domestic circumstances: A scoping review and narrative synthesis

ISSUES

Numerous studies have explored alcohol consumption in pregnancy, but less is known about women's drinking in the early parenting period (EPP, 0-5 years after childbirth). We synthesise research related to three questions: (i) How are women's drinking patterns and trajectories associated with socio-demographic and domestic circumstances?; (ii) What theoretical approaches are used to explain changes in consumption?; (iii) What meanings have been given to mothers' drinking?

APPROACH

Three databases (Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-PsycINFO and CINAHL) were systematically searched. Citation tracking was conducted in Web of Science Citation Index and Google Scholar. Eligible papers explored mothers' alcohol consumption during the EPP, focusing on general population rather than clinical samples. Studies were critically appraised and their characteristics, methods and key findings extracted. Thematic narrative synthesis of findings was conducted.

KEY FINDINGS

Fourteen quantitative and six qualitative studies were identified. The (sub)samples ranged from n = 77,137 to n = 21 women. Mothers' consumption levels were associated with older age, being White and employed, not being in a partnered relationship, higher education and income. Three theoretical approaches were employed to explain these consumption differences: social role, role deprivation, social practice theories. By drinking alcohol, mothers expressed numerous aspects of their identity (e.g., autonomous women and responsible mothers).

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Alcohol-related interventions and policies should consider demographic and cultural transformations of motherhood (e.g., delayed motherhood, changes in family structures). Mothers' drinking should be contextualised carefully in relation to socio-economic circumstances and gender inequalities in unpaid labour. The focus on peer-reviewed academic papers in English language may limit the evidence.

Alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic: gender, parenthood, intimate partner violence, and stress

Some preliminary work during the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that adult alcohol use increased, particularly for parents. This cross-sectional study examined the quantity and frequency of adults' alcohol use during the early stages of the pandemic. Additionally, the influences of gender, parenthood, COVID-19-related stressors and intimate partner violence (IPV) on alcohol consumption were examined. The sample consisted of 298 adults (98 parents) from across the United States who completed self-report surveys through Qualtrics at the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020. In the present study, all men reported higher levels of drinking compared to all women. Although stress levels did not impact alcohol consumption, findings indicate that increased IPV experiences were associated with higher levels of heavy drinking during the pandemic. Results also suggested that having children in the home particularly impacted drinking levels during the pandemic, above and beyond the influence of gender, IPV, and stress levels. These findings suggest that parenthood may have had a cascading influence on drinking experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Alcohol use contexts (social settings, drinking games/specials, and locations) as predictors of high-intensity drinking on a given day among U.S. young adults

BACKGROUND

This study examined whether variability in young adult drinking social settings, drinking games/drink price specials, and locations differentiated daily high-intensity drinking (HID) likelihood; whether contexts varied by legal drinking age and college status (attending a 4-year college full-time); and whether legal drinking age and college status moderated drinking context/intensity associations.

METHODS

Participants (n = 818 people, 46.3% female) were part of the Young Adult Daily Life Study in 2019 to 2022. They were originally selected because they were past 30-day drinkers from the 2018 U.S. national probability Monitoring the Future 12th grade sample and because they reported one or more days of alcohol use during 14-day data collection bursts across the following 4 years (n = 5080 drinking days). Weighted multilevel modeling was used to estimate drinking context/intensity associations. Drinking intensity was defined as moderate (females 1 to 3, males 1 to 4 drinks), binge (4 to 7, 5 to 9 drinks), or HID (8+, 10+ drinks). Models controlled for other within-person (weekend, historical time period) and between-person (sex and race/ethnicity) covariates.

RESULTS

Contexts differentiating HID and binge drinking days included drinking with large groups, strangers, pregaming, drinking games, and more drinking locations. Legal drinking age was associated with lower odds of free drinks but greater odds of drinking at bars/restaurants. College status was associated with lower odds of drinking alone or free drinks, but greater odds of drinking with friends, large groups, pregaming, drinking games, discounted price drinks, and at bars/restaurants, parties, and more drinking locations. Legal drinking age and college status moderated some context-intensity associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Social settings, pregaming, drinking games, and drinking at more locations were associated with increased risk of HID on a given day. Legal drinking age and college status were associated with specific drinking contexts and moderated some context/intensity associations. Incorporating the contexts associated with HID into interventions may help to reduce HID and related consequences in young adults.

Association between age at first alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking: An analysis of Thailand's smoking and alcohol drinking behavior survey 2017

According to evidence from developed countries, age at first alcohol use has been identified as a determinant of heavy episodic drinking (HED). This study aimed to investigate the association between age at first alcohol use and HED using data from the Smoking and Drinking Behavior Survey 2017, a Thai nationally representative survey. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the association. This study used data from 23,073 current drinkers in the survey. The survey participants were chosen to represent the Thai population aged 15 years and older. The prevalence of HED and frequent HED among Thai drinkers was 18.6% and 10.1%, respectively. Age at first drinking <20 years was associated with higher odds of HED (adjusted OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.26-1.62) and frequent HED (adjusted OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.12-1.53) relative to age at first drinking ≥25 years. Regular drinking, drinking at home, and exposure to alcohol advertising increased the odds of HED. Drinking at home was associated with frequent HED. There was a significant interaction between the effect of age at first alcohol use and sex on HED and frequent HED with a stronger effect of age at first alcohol use observed in females. This study provides evidence from a developing country that early onset of alcohol use is associated with HED. Effective measures such as tax and pricing policy should be enforced to delay the onset of drinking.

COVID-19 exposure and diagnosis among college student drinkers: links to alcohol use behavior, motives, and context

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis. College student alcohol use is highly prevalent and primarily occurs in social settings where risk for COVID-19 transmission is heightened. This study explored the associations between alcohol use frequency, quantity, motives, and context with: (i) quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure and (ii) a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. A sample of n = 409 college student drinkers completed an online survey about their health and behaviors during the Fall 2020 semester. Since the start of the semester, 36% of students quarantined and 13% of students received a COVID-19 diagnosis. More frequent alcohol use was associated with increased odds of both quarantine and COVID-19 diagnosis. More frequent drinking for social motives was associated with increased likelihood of quarantine, and more frequent drinking for conformity motives was associated with increased likelihood of COVID-19 diagnosis. Participants who often drank alone or with a small group of friends were about half as likely to have quarantined, while those who often drank with a large group of friends were almost twice as likely to have quarantined. Participants who often drank in a bar or nightclub had almost three times the odds of a COVID-19 diagnosis. Frequent alcohol use and drinking for social and conformity motives and in certain contexts are linked to increased likelihood of COVID-19 exposure and diagnosis. Alcohol use prevention efforts, coupled with messaging to discourage large social gatherings in public places, might help to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among college students.

Changes in alcohol consumption during pregnancy and over the transition towards parenthood

OBJECTIVE

To examine pre- to postnatal changes in drinking for women and men and assess the role of education level in these changes.

BACKGROUND

The transition towards parenthood can contribute to significant shifts in alcohol consumption for women and men. Research has generally focused on pregnancy and short-term changes following childbirth, usually for mothers only. Socio-economic variation in the impact of childbirth and return to drinking postnatally is similarly understudied.

METHOD

Longitudinal alcohol consumption data for 2470 individuals (1248 female) who were pregnant, or the partner of a pregnant woman, were obtained from a representative, Australian survey for three years prior and following birth. Piecewise regression models, including an education-x-time interaction, assessed changes in drinking quantity and frequency.

RESULTS

Female usual quantity and frequency significantly declined during pregnancy, followed by significant postnatal increases in quantity, approaching pre-pregnancy levels, with similar trends across education levels. Male usual quantity increased following childbirth, save for those men with a high-school education. Having an undergraduate degree was associated with a significant postnatal increase in drinking frequency.

CONCLUSION

Further awareness of the risks associated with male-partner drinking could provide substantial public health benefits. Successful facilitation and implementation of interventions and harm reduction strategies for harmful drinking over the pre- to postnatal period could benefit from further consideration of socioeconomic status and education level, particularly for men.

Children, Parental Alcohol Consumption, and Intimate Partner Violence: A Multicountry Analysis by Perpetration Versus Victimization and Sex

Both living with children and alcohol consumption are positively associated with intimate partner violence (IPV). We assessed their combined relationship with physical IPV (P-IPV) victimization and perpetration, and explored possible moderating roles of sex and culture. Data included 15 surveys of 13,716 men and 17,832 women in 14 countries from the GENACIS (Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: An International Study) collaboration. P-IPV was measured as victim of physical aggression by an intimate partner (Vic-Only), perpetrator of physical aggression toward a partner (Perp-Only), or both victim and perpetrator (i.e., bidirectional) (Bi-Dir). Participants reported whether they lived with children below 18 years of age, whether the participant was a drinker/abstainer, and, among drinkers, usual frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression, controlling for age and nesting of data within countries, indicated that Vic-Only, Perp-Only, and Bi-Dir (compared with no P-IPV) were positively associated with living with children, being a drinker, and quantity/frequency of drinking among drinkers (especially higher quantity). The positive association of P-IPV with living with children and being a drinker was evident within most countries. Significant interactions with sex were found, with (a) living with children more strongly associated with Perp-Only for men and Vic-Only for women, and (b) Perp-Only and Bi-Dir more strongly associated with being a drinker for men but with quantity consumed for women. Also, alcohol consumption was more strongly related to Perp-Only and Bi-Dir than with Vic-Only. In conclusion, higher risk of P-IPV with alcohol consumption is compounded when living with children-putting children who live with drinkers, especially drinkers who consume large amounts per occasion, at special risk of exposure to P-IPV. This is an important area for future research and prevention.

Multilevel Contextual Analysis of Poker Cash Game Gambling

This article examines the effect of gambling location on the frequency, expenditure, and time spent on cash game poker in relation to individual characteristics of gamblers. Data were drawn from a 2012 Québec epidemiological gambling survey. The quantitative analysis used multilevel methods to model the dual-level hierarchical design of gambling location (level 1) and individual characteristics nested within poker cash game players (level 2). The sample was comprised of 270 individuals aged 18 years and above and living in private homes, who reported gambling on poker cash games in the past 12 months. Participants reported their gambling habits in up to three locations: private homes, the casino, and the Internet. Demographic data included age, gender, education level, and income. Significant variation was reported between the three locations and the gameplay patterns variables, i.e. betting frequency, time, and spending. The most frequently reported gambling locations were private dwellings (87.4%), followed by casinos (15.9%), and the Internet (13.7%). Some interactions between location and the demographic variables were observed. Moreover, the multilevel analysis revealed an important relationship between the location and poker cash gambling behavior. This study reveals the significance of contextual factors as a fundamental element in gambling behaviors and highlights the need for prevention strategies that target specific high-risk contexts rather than individually based interventions.

Situational context and motives of alcohol use among graduate student drinkers

Extensive research has examined alcohol use context and motives among undergraduates, but less is known about where, when, and why graduate students drink. The current study aimed to describe the motives and situational context of graduate student alcohol use, identify demographic and program characteristics associated with alcohol use motives and context, and assess how alcohol use motives and context are associated with alcohol use behavior. A sample of master's and doctoral-level students who drank during the past month (n = 2091; 63% female) completed an online survey. An exploratory factor analysis yielded two situational context factors: drinking in social situations (e.g., with friends, at a bar) and non-social situations (e.g., alone, at home). Graduate students most frequently endorsed social and enhancement drinking motives. Results of multivariate linear regression models showed that age, sex, race/ethnicity, and international student, marital, parental, and employment status were all associated with motives and context. Drinking for enhancement and drinking to cope were the motives most strongly associated with increased alcohol quantity and frequency, respectively. Drinking in social contexts was positively associated with alcohol quantity and frequency, and drinking in non-social contexts was positively associated with alcohol use frequency but inversely related to alcohol quantity. Graduate students who drink for enhancement reasons and in social situations might be at increased risk for higher quantity alcohol use, or graduate students who drink for coping reasons and in non-social situations might be at increased risk for more frequent alcohol use. Future longitudinal research is needed to explore whether drinking in certain contexts and with certain motivations is predictive of alcohol problems during and after graduate school.

High-intensity drinking by parental status: Differences by age and sex

AIMS

To examine differences in high-intensity drinking (HID) by parental status, parent age, and parent sex, including two- and three-way interaction effects of these parent demographic categories.

METHODS

The present study included individuals ages 18-50 from the National Epidemiologic Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (2012-13), a sample of non-institutionalized adults in the US (N = 22,278). We calculated weighted estimates of past-year HID (≥10/≥8 standard drinks for men/women on a single occasion) for each parental status group (parents of young children <5, parents of children 5-17, not parents of children <18) overall and stratified by sex and stratified by age. We then examined the overall association of parental status and HID and tested for interactions of parental status × sex, parental status × age, and parental status × age × sex, while controlling for other relevant sociodemographic characteristics.

RESULTS

Prevalence of HID varied considerably by parental status, with 14.84% of parents with kids under age 5, 12.72% of parents with kids 5 to 17, and 23.15% of non-parents reporting HID. The strength of the associations of parenthood and HID were strongest for females and for older parents.

CONCLUSIONS

While parents engage in HID less than those who are not parents, a portion of parents of young and adolescent children do report heavy drinking. Younger parents and male parents, in particular, are at high risk for HID. Given the risks to children and parents, interventions focused on preventing HID among parents, especially fathers, could have significant public health impacts.

The contexts of heavy drinking: A systematic review of the combinations of context-related factors associated with heavy drinking occasions

Background

The amount of alcohol consumed during an occasion can be influenced by physical and social attributes of the setting, characteristics and state of individuals, and the interactions of these components. This systematic review identifies and describes the specific combinations and sequences of context-related factors that are associated with heavy drinking occasions.

Materials and methods

We conducted a systematic literature search of MEDLINE, Embase and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases. Eligible articles were event-level and event-based studies that quantitatively analysed associations of sequences or combinations of context-related factors with event-level alcohol consumption. We extracted information on study design, sample, variables, effect estimates and analytical methods. We compiled a list of combinations and sequences associated with heavier drinking (i.e., ‘risky contexts’) and with lighter drinking (‘protective contexts’). The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42018089500).

Results

We screened 1902 retrieved records and identified a final sample of 65 eligible studies. Daily mood, day of week, location and drinking group characteristics are important drivers of whether an individual engages in a heavy drinking occasion. The direction and magnitude of some associations differed by gender, age, personality and motives, such that in particular social or physical contexts, some people may feel compelled to drink more while others are compelled to drink less. Very few sequences of factors were reported as being associated with event-level alcohol consumption.

Conclusions

Contexts or factors are experienced in specific sequences that shape the broader drinking context and influence drinking behaviours and consequences but are under-studied. Event-level studies such as those using ecological momentary assessment can harness new technologies for data collection and analysis to improve understandings of why people engage in heavy drinking. Continued event-level research will facilitate public health interventions and policies that reduce heavy drinking and alcohol-related harms.

Alcohol and parenthood: An integrative analysis of the effects of transition to parenthood in three Australasian cohorts

AIMS

To determine the extent to which the transition to parenthood protects against heavy and problematic alcohol consumption in young men and women.

DESIGN

Integrated participant-level data analysis from three population-based prospective Australasian cohort studies.

SETTING

General community; participants from the Australian Temperament Study, the Christchurch Health and Development Study, and the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study.

MEASUREMENTS

Recent binge drinking, alcohol abuse/dependence and number of standard drinks consumed per occasion.

FINDINGS

4015 participants (2151 females; 54%) were assessed on four occasions between ages 21 and 35. Compared to women with children aged <12 months, women who had not transitioned to parenthood were more likely to meet the criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence (fully adjusted risk ratio [RR] 3.5; 95% CI 1.5-7.9) and to report recent binge drinking (RR 3.0; 95% CI 2.1-4.3). The proportion of women meeting the criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence and/or binge drinking increased with the age of participants' youngest child, as did the mean number of standard drinks consumed on each occasion (1.8 if the youngest child was <1 year of age vs. 3.6 for 5+ years of age). Associations between parenthood and male drinking behaviour were considerably weaker.

CONCLUSIONS

For most women in their twenties and thirties, parenting a child <1 year of age was associated with reduced alcohol consumption. However, this protective effect diminished after 12 months with drinking levels close to pre-parenthood levels after five years. There was little change in male drinking with the transition to parenthood.

All drinking is not equal: how a social practice theory lens could enhance public health research on alcohol and other health behaviours

BACKGROUND

The social meanings, settings and habitual nature of health-related activities and their integration into our daily lives are often overlooked in quantitative public health research. This reflects an overly individualized approach to epidemiological surveillance and evaluations of public health interventions, based on models of behaviour that are rooted in social cognition and rational choice theories. This paper calls for a new approach to alcohol epidemiology and intervention research informed by theories of practice.

ARGUMENT

Practices are conceptualized as routinized types of human activity that are made up of, and can be recognized by, the coming together of several interwoven elements in the same situation (e.g. materials, meanings, skills, locations, timings). Different practices are interconnected-they can occur simultaneously (e.g. drinking and eating), hold each other in place (e.g. after-work drinks) or compete for time (e.g. parenting versus socializing). Applying these principles to alcohol research means shifting attention away from individuals and their behaviours and instead making drinking practices an important unit of analysis. Studying how drinking practices emerge, persist and decay over time, how they spread through populations and local or social networks and how they relate to other activities of everyday life promises new insights into how, why, where, when and with whom drinking and getting drunk occur.

CONCLUSIONS

Theories of practice provide a framework for generating new explanations of stability and change in alcohol consumption and other health behaviours. This framework offers potential for novel insights into the persistence of health inequalities, unanticipated consequences of policies and interventions and new interventions targets through understanding which elements of problematic practices are likely to be most modifiable. We hope this will generate novel insights into the emergence and decay of drinking practices over time and into the geographical and socio-demographic patterning of drinking. Theories of practice-informed research would consider how alcohol policies and population-level interventions might differentially affect different drinking practices.

Understanding the Roles of Context, Frequency, and Quantity of Alcohol Consumption in Child Physical Abuse: Risks for Mothers and Fathers

INTRODUCTION

Alcohol use is related to child physical abuse, although little is known about gender-specific risks factors. This study examines the relationships between alcohol outlets, context-specific drinking, dose-response drinking and child physical abuse for mothers and fathers.

METHOD

Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,973 female and 1,050 male respondents in 50 California cities. Weighted negative binomial models were used to calculate the frequency of physical abuse in the past year.

RESULTS

Drinking more often at restaurants was related to higher frequency of physical abuse for fathers, while mothers who drank more frequently at bars and parties used physical abuse more often. There were no significant dose-response drinking relationships for fathers. Drinking higher amounts at bars, parties, and restaurants was associated with less frequent physical abuse for mothers.

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest that a focus on drinking contexts may reveal heightened risk for many mothers who do not consume large amounts of alcohol.

Predictors of Postpartum Change in Alcohol Use in Norwegian Mothers

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship between marital status, family size, and postpartum alcohol use from birth to 36 months postpartum, based on data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study.

METHOD

Mothers' self-reported alcohol frequency and alcohol units per drinking occasion at 0-3 months, 4-6 months, 18 months, and 36 months postpartum were modeled using linear mixed models for repeated measures.

RESULTS

There was a strong main effect of time on alcohol use, with increases in alcohol use from childbirth to 36 months after childbirth. Adjusting for covariates, there were threeway interaction effects for Time × Family Structure × Family Size for alcohol units and alcohol frequency, indicating that a change in alcohol use varied as a function of family structure and family size. Single mothers had a lower increase in frequency of alcohol use but a steeper increase in the number of alcohol units. However, this effect was less pronounced with increasing family size.

CONCLUSIONS

The patterns of findings are consistent with a differential opportunity perspective on alcohol use.

Understanding the Role of Context-Specific Drinking in Neglectful Parenting Behaviors

AIMS

Child neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment, yet little is known about how drinking context may be related to particular subtypes of child neglect. This study examines the relationship between parental drinking in multiple contexts and the use of supervisory and physical neglectful.

METHODS

A sample of 2152 parents of children 12 years or younger in 50 cities in California was obtained using a computer-assisted telephone interview. Past-year prevalence of child neglect was measured using the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale. Information was collected on past month or past-year frequency of having at least one drink in five contexts, continued drinking measures (e.g. number of drinks after the first drink) and sociodemographics. Data were analyzed using multilevel random effects logit models.

RESULTS

Frequency of drinking in various contexts was related to different neglect subtypes. Specifically, frequency of drinking with friends was positively related leaving a child home alone when an adult should be present. Parents who drank more frequently with family were less likely to leave their child home alone in the past year yet more likely to unsafely monitor their child in the past year. Drinking at parties more often was related to being more likely to leave a child alone in a car sometime during the past year.

CONCLUSIONS

That no single drinking context is universally problematic for supervisory and physical neglect suggests that different social mechanisms may underlie the relationships observed between different drinking contexts and neglect subtypes.

Tridimensionality of alcohol use in Canada: Patterns of drinking, contexts and motivations to drink in the definition of Canadian drinking profiles according to gender

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this paper is to examine whether there is an underlying multidimensional typology of drinking according to gender among a population presenting heterogeneous drinking profiles in Canada.

METHODS

Latent class analysis was chosen to analyze the degree of statistical relationship among three indicators of drinking practices: patterns of drinking - i.e., frequency and quantity; contexts; and motivations to drink. Multivariate multilogistic regressions were conducted to explore the composition of each typology by age and education. Participants were selected from the Canadian GENACIS survey (Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: An International Study) and comprised 871 men and 843 women (N = 1,714) aged between 18 and 77 years and being regular alcohol drinkers (consumption at least once a month). Respondents to the GENACIS questionnaire completed questions on use, contexts and reasons to drink as well as socio-economic questions (age and education), adjusted by Canadian province of residence.

RESULTS

Six profiles were distinguished among men and five among women. Men and women share four drinking patterns but present distinctive characteristics of drinking. We also observed variability in the relationship according to socio-economic status and gender.

CONCLUSION

Our results confirmed the complexity and variability of drinking practices according to gender in Canada and the necessity to focus on gender and social dimensions in order to enhance our understanding of alcohol use. This study also reinforces the idea of adapting promotion strategies and interventions in public health by gender and social status in order to make them more efficient.

"Just make sure you can get up and parent the next day": Understanding the contexts, risks, and rewards of alcohol consumption for parents

Little is known about how parents make drinking decisions and weigh the risks and rewards of alcohol consumption in specific contexts. This qualitative study examined two questions: 1. What factors influence parental drinking decisions in different drinking contexts? 2. What do parents perceive as the risks and rewards of alcohol consumption in different drinking contexts? Purposive sampling was used to select sixty parents of children aged 10 or younger living in four mid-sized California cities. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Many parents viewed drinking at family get-togethers or parties as protective of children, since the presence of multiple adults and children provide buffers when parents become intoxicated. In contrast, parents noted that drinking at home, and particularly drinking alone, transmitted potentially negative messages. Social pressures and contexts influence alcohol consumption among parents and could provide potential avenues for intervention against alcohol-related harms.

Where the individual meets the ecological: a study of parent drinking patterns, alcohol outlets, and child physical abuse

BACKGROUND

Despite well-known associations between heavy drinking and child physical abuse, little is known about specific risks related to drinking different amounts of alcohol in different drinking venues. This study uses a context-specific dose-response model to examine how drinking in various venues (e.g., at bars or parties) is related to physically abusive parenting practices while controlling for individual and psychosocial characteristics.

METHODS

Data were collected via a telephone survey of parents in 50 cities in California, resulting in 2,163 respondents who reported drinking in the past year. Child physical abuse and corporal punishment were measured using the Conflict Tactics Scale, Parent-Child version. Drinking behaviors were measured using continued drinking measures. Data were analyzed using zero-inflated Poisson models.

RESULTS

Drinking at homes, parties, or bars more frequently was related to greater frequencies of physically abusive parenting practices. The use of greater amounts of alcohol in association with drinking at bars appeared to increase risks of corporal punishment, a dose-response effect. Dose-response relationships were not found for drinking at homes or parties or drinking at bars for physical abuse nor for drinking at home and parties for corporal punishment.

CONCLUSIONS

Frequencies of using drinking venues, particularly bars and home or parties, are associated with greater use of abusive parenting practices. These findings suggest that a parent's routine drinking activities place children at different risks of being physically abused. They also suggest that interventions that take into account parents' alcohol use at drinking venues are an important avenue for secondary prevention efforts.