Intergenerational transmission of alcohol misuse: mediation and interaction by school performance in a Swedish birth cohort

Abstract

BackgroundChildren whose parents misuse alcohol have increased risks of own alcohol misuse in adulthood. Though most attain lower school marks, some still perform well in school, which could be an indicator of resilience with protective potential against negative health outcomes. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine the processes of mediation and interaction by school performance regarding the intergenerational transmission of alcohol misuse.MethodsData were drawn from a prospective Swedish cohort study of children born in 1953 (n=14 608). Associations between parental alcohol misuse (ages 0–19) and participants’ own alcohol misuse in adulthood (ages 20–63) were examined by means of Cox regression analysis. Four-way decomposition was used to explore mediation and interaction by school performance in grade 6 (age 13), grade 9 (age 16) and grade 12 (age 19).ResultsMediation and/or interaction by school performance accounted for a substantial proportion of the association between parental alcohol misuse and own alcohol misuse in adulthood (58% for performance in grade 6, 27% for grade 9 and 30% for grade 12). Moreover, interaction effects appeared to be more important for the outcome than mediation.ConclusionAbove-average school performance among children whose parents misused alcohol seems to reflect processes of resilience with the potential to break the intergenerational transmission of alcohol misuse. Four-way decomposition offers a viable approach to disentangle processes of interaction from mediation, representing a promising avenue for future longitudinal research.

Intergenerational transmission of parental risky health behaviors in Chinese children: Are there socioeconomic status differences?

“…This study showed that, consistent with many previous findings ( 25 , 29 – 39 , 46 , 48 – 50 , 62 ), risky parental health behaviors have a significant risk of being transmitted to their children. It is usually easy for children to imitate their parents' behaviors even if they are negative or unhealthy ( 25 – 28 , 63 , 64 ), and, therefore, parents' words and deeds are very important in preventing risky health behaviors in children.…”

“…According to Cockerham's Health Lifestyle Theory ( 45 ), high-SES parents not only avoid the transmission of their own negative health behaviors but also their gentle parenting style helps to develop self-control in their children ( 45 ). In contrast, low-SES families tend to adopt strict, punitive, and authoritarian parenting styles, leading to children's poor self-control and making them more likely to emulate their parents' risky health behavior ( 28 – 31 , 33 , 34 , 39 , 46 – 52 ). In other words, the intergenerational transmission of risky health behaviors is likely to be in reverse to the SES gradient.…”

Family’ members experiences of their older relative’s alcohol and substance misuse

“…52–53; Nordlie, 2003 ; Orford et al, 2013 ). Participants also reported feeling disconnected emotionally: problems at school or sick leave from work were reported, and alcohol misuse problems in adulthood, which has also been reported previously (Almquist, Bishop, Gustafsson & Berg, 2020 ; Marino et al, 2018 ; Rospenda et al, 2010 ).…”

Covid-19 and alcohol: parental drinking influences the next generation

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