The impact of heavy parental or caregiver alcohol use on children and young people is a social issue that urgently requires further research and public debate. Research on alcohol-related harm has historically focused primarily on the negative effects of alcohol consumption on the individual drinker.As a result the wider social costs of alcohol use on children and families (the 'externalities' – costs which do not accrue to the drinker) have not been examined thoroughly, particularly within the New Zealand context. Where the impacts of familial alcohol use have been investigated it has often been in the alcohol problem treatment field.1 In 2005 a survey carried out by the Centre for Social & Health Outcomes Research & Evaluation (SHORE) in the Auckland region interviewed young people aged 12-17 years and one of their parents/caregivers. The survey found that between 4 and 5 percent of households had at least one parent/caregiver who is a heavy drinker. This figure alone suggests that the issue of the impact of heavy use of alcohol by
a parent or caregiver on young people's health and wellbeing requires substantive further consideration. This review aims to identify and review the current research literature about the impacts of heavy parental alcohol use on children. This report was prepared for the Families Commission Blue Skies Fund by Melissa Girling, John Huakau, Sally Casswell & Kim Conway.[©2009 Families Commission. Reproduced with permission]

nz