Mothers' Parenting Behavior and Child Mental Health in Families with a Problem Drinking Parent

Abstract

The article examines mother's parenting behavior and child mental health in families with an alcoholic parent using a structural equation model. The analysis hypothesized that parent problem drinking had direct effects on negative life, events and parenting behavior, but not on child mental health. Thus, the only influence of parent problem drinking on child mental health would be that transmitted through the mediators. The results of separate analyses for the Hispanic and non-Hispanic families revealed differences in the mediational roles of mothers' parenting behavior. In this sample, Hispanic mothers exerted a stronger influence on children's mental health than non-Hispanic mothers. Supportive Parenting was more strongly related to both negative life events and child mental health in Hispanic than in non-Hispanic families. The analysis reveals that parent problem drinking is related to higher levels of negative life events, which in turn are related to less supportive parenting and more inconsistent discipline.