A new systematic review has found that parents and other child caregivers who have alcohol-related diagnoses are twice as likely to maltreat children in their care than parents and caregivers with no alcohol-related diagnoses. The review is published in Addiction.
“Alcohol-related diagnoses” included alcohol-related hospitalization, alcohol-related service use, or a history of clinically determined alcohol dependence. “Child maltreatment” included physical, psychological, emotional and sexual abuse; neglect; and other types of maltreatment such as harsh parenting.
The study pooled the results from twelve studies of child maltreatment. All were cohort studies in high-income countries: three in Australia, one in Denmark, one in New Zealand, two in South Korea, one in the United Kingdom, and four in the United States. The sample size ranged from 501 to 84,245 (median 4,782).
Caregiver alcohol-related diagnoses were associated with higher child maltreatment incidence (odds ratio, 2.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.10–4.89) and recurrence (1.92; 1.13-3.28) compared with caregivers without alcohol-related diagnoses.
Lead author Dr. June Leung, of the SHORE & Whariki Research Center, Massey University, says, “To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review of the relationship between caregiver alcohol use and all types of child maltreatment.
“We found consistent associations between caregiver alcohol-related diagnoses and child maltreatment. We also could not rule out a link between any caregiver drinking and child maltreatment. Our findings call for stronger actions to limit alcohol harm, including child maltreatment.”
More information:
The association of parental or caregiver alcohol use with child maltreatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, Addiction (2025). DOI: 10.1111/add.70055
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Society for the Study of Addiction
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Parents with alcohol-related diagnoses are twice as likely to maltreat children, researchers find (2025, April 30)
retrieved 30 April 2025
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This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
A new systematic review has found that parents and other child caregivers who have alcohol-related diagnoses are twice as likely to maltreat children in their care than parents and caregivers with no alcohol-related diagnoses. The review is published in Addiction. “Alcohol-related diagnoses” included alcohol-related hospitalization, alcohol-related service use, or a history of clinically determined alcohol dependence. “Child maltreatment” included physical, psychological, emotional and sexual abuse; neglect; and other types of maltreatment such as harsh parenting. The study pooled the results from twelve studies of child maltreatment. All were cohort studies in high-income countries: three in Australia, one in Denmark, one in New Zealand, two in South Korea, one in the United Kingdom, and four in the United States. The sample size ranged from 501 to 84,245 (median 4,782). Caregiver alcohol-related diagnoses were associated with higher child maltreatment incidence (odds ratio, 2.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.10–4.89) and recurrence (1.92; 1.13-3.28) compared with caregivers without alcohol-related diagnoses. Lead author Dr. June Leung, of the SHORE & Whariki Research Center, Massey University, says, “To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review of the relationship between caregiver alcohol use and all types of child maltreatment. “We found consistent associations between caregiver alcohol-related diagnoses and child maltreatment. We also could not rule out a link between any caregiver drinking and child maltreatment. Our findings call for stronger actions to limit alcohol harm, including child maltreatment.” More information: Provided by Citation: This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
The association of parental or caregiver alcohol use with child maltreatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, Addiction (2025). DOI: 10.1111/add.70055
Society for the Study of Addiction
Parents with alcohol-related diagnoses are twice as likely to maltreat children, researchers find (2025, April 30)
retrieved 30 April 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-parents-alcohol-maltreat-children.html
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
