Perceived parental alcohol problems and later dropout and grade point average in high school: A register‐based follow‐up study

Abstract

Introduction:The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that young people with perceived parental alcohol problems have higher dropout rates in high school and lower grade point average (GPA) at graduation compared to young people without perceived parental alcohol problems. Methods: Data come from Danish National Youth Study 2014 (n = 62,171), merged with register-data on later dropout of high school and GPA. Multilevel Poisson regression models of incidence rates of dropout and multilevel linear models of GPA were used to assess the association with perceived parental alcohol problems. Results: A total of 6.6% of the students perceived their parent(s) to have alcohol problems. Young people with perceived parental alcohol problems had higher dropout rate (girls incidence rate ratio 1.83; 95% confidence interval [1.62-2.06]); boys (incidence rate ratio 1.38; 95% confidence interval [1.17-1.64]) and lower grades (GPA: À0.24; 95% confidence interval [À0.32; À0.17]) compared to those without. There was no statistically significant difference between mother's and fathers' alcohol problems in the associations with dropout and GPA. Discussion and Conclusions: Perceived parental alcohol problems were associated with higher incidence rate ratio of dropout and lower grades within all categories of the socioeconomic factors. Our results show that young people with perceived parental alcohol problems have higher high school dropout rates and lower grades compared to those without perceived parental alcohol problems across gender and socioeconomic position. The results call for evidence-based interventions to support young people with parental alcohol problems in the educational system.

Perceived parental alcohol problems and psychosomatic complaints among adolescents in Sweden

“…Second, with regards to the students in grade 11 in our sample, there may be an additional bias as upper secondary school is not mandatory in Sweden. Although the majority of adolescents enrol in upper secondary school, it is likely that students with problematic familial alcohol use are more inclined to not continue to or to drop out from upper secondary school ( Pisinger et al, 2023 ). Relatedly, this group of adolescents probably also have more psychosomatic complaints.…”

“…One particular type of adversity relates to alcohol problems in the family of origin ( Felitti et al, 1998 ). Children of problem-drinking parents have increased risks of short- and long-term adverse outcomes in terms of, e.g., higher levels of drinking and more problematic drinking themselves ( Haugland et al, 2013 , Karlsson et al, 2016 , Olssonet al, 2019 , Olsson et al, 2021 , Pisinger et al, 2017 , Thor et al, 2022 ), higher levels of self-reported health problems ( Pisinger et al, 2016 , Wahlström et al, 2023a ), increased risks of mental and behavioural disorders ( Johnson and Leff, 1999 , Landberg et al, 2019 , Raitasalo et al, 2019 ), as well as poorer educational outcomes ( Berg et al, 2016 , Pisinger et al, 2023 ).…”

Institutional and Teaching Practices for Student Retention: Accounts from Four High Schools of Valparaíso, Chile

“…These investigations emphasize the risk that inequalities in access to education that already existed prior to the pandemic have increased (Bayley et al, 2023). On the other hand, there remains a high interest in continuing to delve into the causes that cause it, either in a general way (Kumar et al, 2023) or by analyzing specific factors such as parental alcohol consumption (Pisinger et al, 2023). Some studies analyze this topic using more sophisticated techniques, such as machine learning (Colak Oz et al, 2023;Selim & Rezk, 2023).…”

Perceived parental alcohol problems and drinking patterns among adolescents in Sweden

“…These children face an elevated risk of experiencing adverse social and physical consequences such as neglect, abuse, and dysfunctional family environments ( Dube et al, 2001 , Haugland et al, 2021 , Jose and Cherayi, 2020 ). They also tend to exhibit higher rates of self-reported health problems ( Pisinger et al, 2017 , Wahlström et al, 2023 , Syed Raza et al, 2023 ), increased risks of mental and behavioural problems ( Johnson and Leff, 1999 , Landberg et al, 2019 , Raitasalo et al, 2019 ), and lower educational attainment ( Berg et al, 2016 , Pisinger et al, 2023 ). Moreover, children with parents who have alcohol problems are more likely to develop alcohol dependency themselves compared to other children in the same society ( Johnson & Leff, 1999 ).…”