New research from Cassandra Hopkins, PhD candidate at La Trobe’s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, has highlighted the elements that increase the risk of children being affected by others’ drinking.
“Children’s health and wellbeing are shaped by the social and economic environments they grow up in,” Cassandra explains. “This study looked at the socio-demographic characteristics of those caregivers who indicated that a child in their care was substantially affected by other people’s drinking.”
Just over five per cent of caregivers in the study indicated that a child in their care was substantially affected by another person’s alcohol consumption in the past year.
“In Australian-first research, we found that elements such as identifying as a woman, financial stress, household structure and socio-economic disadvantage increased the likelihood of children being substantially affected by others’ drinking.”
Cassandra says the findings suggest that efforts to reduce alcohol-related harms should be considered alongside efforts to address social and economic disadvantage.
“Ensuring that social and financial support is available and accessible to families experiencing alcohol-related harm is essential, because barriers such as economic hardship and geographical constraints may mean families are less able to access the support needed,” she says.
“Measures to support the social and financial wellbeing of families and children who experience harms from others’ drinking might include counselling and peer support groups, alongside economic assistance such as subsides for housing, healthcare or childcare.”
She adds that while financial assistance from state and federal governments may assist with temporary experiences of financial stress, it is not enough.
“Evidence suggests that the current level of financial support is inadequate, particularly for single caregivers with children.”
