Exploring Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Caregivers Who Indicated a Child Was Substantially Affected by Others' Drinking in Australia.

Abstract

Introduction: Children's health and wellbeing is influenced by the social, economic and environmental conditions in which they live, known as the social determinants of health (SDH). This study examines caregivers' socio-demographic characteristics and reports of children substantially affected by others' drinking (i.e., caregivers' interpretations of severity).

Methods: A sample of 705 adults living with children under 18 years from the 2021 Australian Alcohol's Harm to Others study indicated how much a child was negatively affected by others' drinking (excluding their own) in the past year. Responses were categorised as 'substantially affected' or 'less substantially affected'. Logistic regressions examined associations of socio-demographic characteristics and reports of substantially affected children.

Results: Amongst caregivers, 5.4% indicated a child was substantially affected by others' drinking in the past year. Identifying as a woman (95% CI 1.17-5.13, p = 0.017), experiencing financial stress (95% CI 2.01-7.70, p = 0.000), being a single caregiver (95% CI 1.35-6.56, p = 0.007) or living in an area with a lower Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas score (95% CI 1.03-3.94, p = 0.039) was associated with an increased likelihood of indicating a child was substantially affected by others' drinking.

Discussion and conclusions: Our findings highlight that caregiver social disadvantage is associated with indicating a child was substantially affected by others' drinking. Policies addressing alcohol consumption and social disadvantage affecting children's wellbeing are needed, particularly financial support for families experiencing financial stress and single caregivers. Larger and more targeted studies are needed to further examine SDH and outcomes for children related to others' drinking.