In 1995, the Swedish government instituted a program of a 30-day parental leave for first-time fathers. While it was already known that fathers’ parental leave has been associated with decreased risks of alcohol-related hospitalizations, what was /not/ know was whether the reduction was due to the leave itself, or to selection into leave uptake, as fathers are more likely to use leave if they are in better health.
The design of the experiment was to determine whether fathers’ parental leave influences alcohol-related morbidity and mortality.
The sampling population in this study included 220,412 fathers of singleton children born from January 1992 to December 1997. Using a variety of government registers, investigators were able to match first-time fathers with the following:
1)Each singleton child and mother;
2) Data pertaining to whether they utilized parental leave in the past;
3)Hospitalizations with a primary or secondary diagnosis and deaths with an underlying cause of alcohol intoxication;
4) Mental and behavioral disorders because of alcohol abuse;
5) Alcohol-related cardiovascular, stomach and other diseases; and
6) Alcohol-related liver diseases.
Hospitalizations were further subdivided into acute alcohol-related (for immediate effects of excessive alcohol consumption), chronic alcohol-related hospitalizations, i.e. alcohol-related cardiovascular, stomach and other diseases, and alcohol-related liver diseases.
Results
First-time fathers showed a significant decrease in all alcohol-related hospitalizations as measured 2 years postpartum,8 years postpartum, and 18 years postpartum. This decrease appeared to be driven more by changes in acute rather than chronic alcohol prepared hospitalization rates. Mortality rates remained unchanged.
What are the possible mechanisms for this benefit?
- Parenthood appears to be protective against alcohol misuse through greater involvement in childcare by promoting self-regulation around children and reducing leisure time at home;
- By providing adequate employment-related and financial protections, parental leave may, therefore, reduce stress, related coping behaviors, and ultimately, poor mental health.
Honkaniemi, H., and Juarez, S. P. (2023). Alcohol-related morbidity and mortality by fathers’ parental leave: A quasi-experimental study in Sweden. Addiction (2023); 1-10. DOI 10.1111/add.16354
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