Fathers Who Drink Heavily Report Less Positive Involvement with Their Children; Reducing Fathers’ Binge Drinking May Have Broad Benefits for Families
Research Society on AlcoholismFathers who acknowledge binge drinking are less involved with their children, according to new research in several countries that have traditionally been understudied. Globally, men are increasingly involved in children’s development. The latest analysis, in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, explores fathers’ binge drinking in relation to the quality of their parenting, and suggests that preventing or treating heavy alcohol use among fathers may have broad benefits for families. Previous studies around the world have flagged the harms of parents’ problematic alcohol use on family relationships and children’s development. Paternal alcohol use disorder, depression, and marital satisfaction are known to be important for parenting. Heavy drinking, which is related to notions of masculinity, has been linked across cultures to more punitive parenting, child abuse and neglect, and intimate partner violence. Little is known about how heavy alcohol use impacts fathers’ relationships