Peer-reviewed article
Stress, alcohol use, and punitive parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic
Jennifer Price Wolf, Bridget Freisthler, Caileigh Chadwick ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how parental stress during COVID-19 lockdowns relates to harsh or punitive parenting, and whether alcohol use plays a role in this relationship. Researchers tracked 342 parents in Ohio using smartphone surveys at different times of day over two weeks. The findings show that higher parental stress and later times of day were linked to more punitive parenting, and that parents who drank alcohol regularly and experienced high stress were more likely to use harsh discipline than non-drinking parents under stress.
Key points
- Higher parental stress was strongly associated with increased punitive parenting (odds ratio 1.149)
- Punitive parenting was more likely later in the day (odds ratio 1.255 at 9 p.m. compared to 10 a.m.)
- Alcohol use alone was not significantly related to punitive parenting in basic models
- Parents who drank both monthly and weekly with high stress had greater odds of punitive parenting than non-drinking parents with high stress
- Alcohol may act as an accelerant that increases the risk of harsh parenting when parents are already stressed
Limitations
The study was cross-sectional in design (measuring associations at single time points rather than establishing causation) and relied on self-report data from a specific region during a particular pandemic period, so results may not generalise to other contexts or times. The study cannot determine whether alcohol use directly causes punitive parenting or whether both result from shared underlying factors.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Emerging research suggests that parents are experiencing heightened stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parental stress is a risk factor for harsh or punitive parenting, and this association may be exacerbated by the use of alcohol. OBJECTIVE: We examine whether parental stress is associated with use of punitive parenting, as well as whether this association is modified by drinking pattern. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: We used advertisements and word-of-mouth to recruit 342 parents living in Central Ohio during the initial stay-at-home order for COVID-19. METHODS: We used geographic ecological momentary assessment (gEMA) to measure parental stress and punitive parenting during three time periods (10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m.) over a period of fourteen days using an app downloaded to their cellular telephone. Participants also completed a longer baseline survey. We used nested multilevel ordinal regression models, where at-the-moment assessments (Level 1) were nested within individuals (Level 2) to analyze data. RESULTS: Higher levels of parental stress [OR = 1.149 (95 % CI = 1.123, 1.176)] and later time of day [OR = 1.255 (95 % CI = 1.146, 1.373)] were positively related to odds of punitive parenting. Drinking pattern was not significantly related to punitive parenting in models with demographic covariates. Parents who drank alcohol both monthly and weekly and had higher levels of stress had greater odds of punitive parenting than parents with high levels of stress who abstain from alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol may be an accelerant in the use of punitive parenting for parents experiencing stress. As alcohol use increases during COVID-19, children may be at higher risk for punitive parenting.