Alcohol use, mental health, and parenting practices among HIV-positive mothers

AbstractMothers living with HIV (MLH) must balance childcare, their illness, and oftentimes other mental health problems/stressors. It is important to understand how a maladaptive coping strategy (alcohol use), is linked to poorer parenting practices. We assessed the relationship between mental health/coping (anxiety, depression, alcohol use, social support), and parenting/family dimensions (communication, parenting style/stress, family routines/cohesion) among 152 MLH. Mothers reporting more psychiatric symptoms and less social support also reported poorer parenting practices and interactions. Further, MLH who used more alcohol reported less parenting involvement and fewer family interactions. Alcohol use, even at subclinical levels, can negatively impact the parent-child relationship.