Harms to children from men’s heavy drinking: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: Research has examined a range of impacts of women’s drinking on children. However, fewer studies have addressed the consequences of men’s heavy drinking on children. This review aims to identify and describe men’s behaviours and actions that arise from their drinking and are likely to cause harm to children, and the types of harms that stem from men's drinking that children experience. Methods: Review articles from 1990 to September 2023 were included. Four health and social databases were searched for reviews that included terms relating to men, alcohol consumption, and child harms. From 1,873 identified articles, 19 articles met the criteria for inclusion. Results: Four broad topics were identified: relationships and families; violence and maltreatment; health, psychological and wellbeing impacts; and social and educational outcomes for children. Children may experience both direct and indirect harms associated with men’s drinking. The former includes examples where men’s drinking was linked to disinhibition, aggression, and physical assault. In the latter, men were absent resulting in being emotionally unavailable due to drinking. Internalising and externalising behaviours were common outcomes for children exposed to men’s drinking. Contextual factors such as poverty, cultural norms and patriarchal influences were interrelated and sometimes exacerbated harm to children from men’s drinking. Conclusions: This review highlights the immediate and longer-lasting consequences of men’s drinking for children, including family conflict, maltreatment, and emotional distress. Future studies should address gender disparities and consider the social factors present in cases where children are exposed to men’s drinking.