Barbara Carvalho

• Carvalho, Barbara Oliveira Vieira de; Stea, Tonje Holte; Coombes, Lindsey & Haugland, Siri Håvås (2026). Associations Between Parental Alcohol Use and Parenting Practices: A Systematic Review. Behavioral Sciences. 16(2). doi: 10.3390/bs16020236. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Parental practices strongly influence offspring development, and parental alcohol use may affect parenting behavior. However, most studies have focused on child-related outcomes. This review instead examined associations between parental drinking and parenting practices. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and Scopus identified 9053 articles. Of these, 222 full texts were screened by two reviewers, and 77 were included for critical appraisal. After quality assessment, 68 studies published between 1991 and 2026 were reviewed. Studies were included if they (i) measured parental alcohol use as a predictor and parenting practices as an outcome, (ii) involved offspring under 20 years, (iii) had a quantitative design, (iv) were peer-reviewed and published in English, and (v) excluded pregnancy measures and alcohol/parenting treatment interventions. Parenting factors (e.g., parent–child relationship, monitoring, communication, discipline, conflict, abuse) were categorized and grouped into general and alcohol-specific practices. Parental drinking was categorized into alcohol use disorders (AUD) and non-dependent alcohol use. Sixty-four studies reported at least one significant association between parental drinking and poorer parenting practices. Mixed results were observed for non-dependent drinking and alcohol-specific parenting. Some associations varied with parental gender. Overall, different drinking patterns appear to be linked to impaired parenting quality. Despite being the most common pattern of alcohol use, non-dependent drinking remains understudied in parenting research. The present review highlights several critical gaps in the literature, particularly regarding the relationship between non-dependent drinking, maternal AUD, and parenting practices. Moreover, contextual factors, such as socioeconomic status and gender differences, are insufficiently explored, limiting the understanding of heterogeneity in risk and outcomes. Future research would benefit from employing robust longitudinal designs and expanding geographical representation, in order to capture variation across sociocultural contexts and enhance the generalizability of findings.

• Haugland, Siri Håvås; Carvalho, Barbara Oliveira Vieira de; Strandheim, Arve & Stea, Tonje Holte (2024). Parental Alcohol Intoxication, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Negative Psychological Reactions to Childhood Adversities: Cross-Sectional and Prospective Data from the Population‑Based HUNT Study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma. ISSN 1936-1521. doi: 10.1007/s40653-024-00651-4. Full text in Research Archive
• Haugland, Siri Håvås; Carvalho, Barbara Olivieira Vieira de; Stea, Tonje Holte; Strandheim, Arve & Vederhus, John-Kåre (2021). Associations between parental alcohol problems in childhood and adversities during childhood and later adulthood: a cross-sectional study of 28047 adults from the general population. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy. 16. doi: 10.1186/s13011-021-00384-9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are related to adverse physical and mental health outcomes. However, few larger studies based on a general population sample with age groups ranging from young adults to elderly have investigated whether parental alcohol problems increase the risk of offspring subjective reports of ACE both during childhood and current adult adversities. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between parental alcohol problems and adversities during childhood and later in adulthood. Methods The 28,047 respondents were adults (> 18 years old) from the general population who participated in the Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey. The study had a cross-sectional design and included respondents’ evaluations of childhood experiences and current adult adversities. The short version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-6, cut-off ≥3) measured parental alcohol problems. Multivariable logistic regression was adjusted for gender, age, and education. Results Growing up with parental alcohol problems strongly increased the risk of experiencing a dysfunctional family environment during childhood (odds ratio [OR] 6.84; 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.36–7.36), perceiving childhood as difficult (OR 5.01; 95% CI 4.58–5.49), and reporting a lack of support from a trusted adult (OR 3.07; 95% CI 2.86–3.29). Parental alcohol problems were associated with a modestly increased risk of harmful alcohol use (OR 1.38; 95% CI 1.29–1.48), but the association with struggling with bad memories was strong (OR 4.56; 95% CI 4.17–4.98). Conclusions Parental alcohol problems increased the risk of offspring experiencing adversities during both childhood and adulthood. Providing supportive services to these children and their families and addressing this issue as part of treatment is important to prevent alcohol related harm.

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