How parents' drinking and stress relate to children's behavior problems

Impacts of Parental Alcohol Use and Stress on Youth Externalizing Psychopathology

NIH-funded research Brown University · NIH-11179311

This project looks at whether parental alcohol use and parent stress are linked to behavior problems in young children.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionBrown University NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Providence, United States)
Project IDNIH-11179311 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

If you are a parent of a young child with behavior problems, this research will follow families over time to see how parent drinking and daily stress relate to children's aggressive or oppositional behaviors. The team will use multiple methods, including frequent check-ins and wearable alcohol biosensors for parents, to gather real-world data. The work focuses on children early in life and aims to broaden understanding of how family factors affect child externalizing disorders. Participation could include repeated surveys, brief assessments, and use of noninvasive sensors as described by the study team.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are parents and their young children (early childhood) where the child shows externalizing behavior problems and the parent has varying levels of alcohol use or stress.

Not a fit: Families without children who have externalizing behavior problems or parents with no history of alcohol use or relevant stressors are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help target supports and prevention efforts for families to reduce child behavior problems linked to parental drinking and stress.

How similar studies have performed: Previous research links parental drinking and stress to child behavior problems, but using intensive longitudinal methods and alcohol biosensors in families with severe child behavior issues is a more novel approach.

Where this research is happening

Providence, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Behavior Disorders
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.