Alcohol Use in Parents of Children with Asd Vs. without Asd and Predictors of Alcohol Use

Introduction: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability characterized by impairments in social communication, repetitive behaviors, restricted interests, and sensory sensitivities (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). Current estimates suggest that 1 in 68 children meet diagnostic criteria for ASD (Autism & Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 2016). Furthermore, parents of children with ASD report greater parenting stress relative to parents of children without ASD (Brobst et al., 2012).

One factor known to impact family outcomes is parent alcohol use (CDC,2016), with some research suggesting that parents are at risk for heightened alcohol use when faced with greater child-related challenges and parenting stress (e.g., Pelham, 1999). It is possible that within the context of heightened parenting stress, parents of children with ASD also experience heightened risk to alcohol use. To date there are no examinations of alcohol use among parents of children with ASD. The current study sought to address this gap in knowledge. The goals were to (a) evaluate the between-group difference in level of alcohol use in parents of children with ASD relative to parents of children without ASD, and (b) determine, at a within-group level, the individual- and family-level predictors of alcohol use among parents of children with ASD.

Methods: Data analyses were based on 189 couples who had a child with ASD and a comparison group of 186 couples who had a child without ASD. The comparison group was matched on child age and sex. To address Goal 1, two analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted, controlling for sociodemographic variables that differed significantly between the two groups (parents of children with ASD vs. without ASD), for mothers and fathers. To address Goal 2, multilevel modeling was conducted using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002) software to account for the dyadic nature of the data.

Results: Results for Goal 1 found no significant difference in level of alcohol use between the two groups. For Goal 2, at a between-person level, household income was significantly positively associated with initial level of alcohol use in both mothers (b = 0.15, p = .04) and fathers (b = 0.18, p = .02), and having multiple children with special healthcare needs was significantly negatively associated with initial level of alcohol use in fathers (b = -0.98, p = .03). At a within-person level, depressive symptoms significantly positively co-varied with level of alcohol use in fathers (b = 0.03, p = .01).

Conclusions: The current study assists in better illuminating factors that predict family outcomes in ASD. Implications for targeted interventions at a family level are discussed.