Evaluation of a new online survey shows parents who feel stressed about homeschooling their children during the COVID-19 pandemic consume seven more alcoholic drinks per month than parents who do not report feeling stressed by distance learning. These stressed parents are also twice as likely to report binge alcohol use, at least once over the prior month compared to parents who do not feel stressed.
The study was conducted by researchers Professor Susan Sonnenschein and Elyse R. Grossman Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They disucssed their research in The Conversation.
361 parents with children under the age of 18 and currently living at home completed the online survey in May 2020. The researchers distributed the survey through social media channels and listservs to people throughout the U.S. But the survey is not a nationally representative sample. As is common with such surveys, most of the parents who responded were middle-income or higher. The results of the study have not yet been published in an academic journal.
Worrying findings about stress and alcohol use
78% of the parents responding to the survey had children who did distance learning in the spring of 2020. Of those, 66% reported that the experience caused them stress because they were not sure how to help.
Why it matters
Alcohol use entails serious risks and can cause severe harms, despite the cultural normalization and marketing glamorization, including jokes and memes about alcohol getting people through the COVID-19 pandemic. More people die each year from alcohol use than from motor vehicle crashes, guns or illegal drugs. Increased alcohol use is also related to many public health problems, such as violence, crime, poverty and sexually transmitted diseases.
Alcohol consumption is especially dangerous during COVID-19 because alcohol use weakens the immune system and thus increases the likelihood of getting COVID-19 and, if infected, of having worse outcomes.
People increase their alcohol consumption in stressful times and crises, such as tsunamis and hurricanes. These patterns have been confirmed by research into previous disease outbreaks, including SARS in 2003, and collective disasters, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
COVID-19 is another stressful situation. One study in Poland with over 1,000 participants found that people are currently consuming more wine, beer and liquor than before the pandemic.
Given that distance learning is going to continue for the near future, stressors in the home are likely abundant and are important to be understood and decreased.
This is especially urgent because research also shows that parents are consuming more alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic than people without children. But the new survey by Prof Sonnenschein is the first one to look at the relationship between alcohol use and the stress caused by homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What still isn’t known
School systems will require more distance learning in the foreseeable future. For distance learning to be successful for children and parents, more needs to be known about what makes it stressful.
As distance learning becomes the new normal, at least for now, it is important to see what, if anything, changes in how well schools provide distance learning and how it affects parents.
Healthier coping strategies and improved understanding of the real effects and harms of alcohol are important pieces of an overall response to support parents and promote health and well-being.
