459 Parenting Stress and Drinking to Cope Association with Early Childhood Risk Behaviors

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Parent stress and coping impacts reward and motivation circuits during child development which influence self-regulation. One well known maladaptive coping response is alcohol or drinking-to-cope (DTC). This study assessed differences in stress and child behaviors among DTC parents as compared to non-DTC parents. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Baseline data was used from parents of a 2-5-year-old who were screened for a larger study assessing a mindfulness-based parent stress reduction intervention to improve healthy choices for themselves and their families. The sample included 172 parent-child dyads, mean parent age was 34.4 (6.1) years old, 56.3% white, mean child age was 3.6 (1.2) years old, 52.3% male. Subjective stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), parent-specific stress was assessing using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), DTC was assessed using the COPE inventory, and child behaviors were assessed using the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. To investigate the differences in stress and child behaviors between DTC parents and non-DTC parents independent samples t-tests were conducted. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: DTC was significantly correlated with PSS (r= 0.23, p<.01), PSI (r= 0.26, p<.01), child self-control (r= -0.16, p= .03), child attention problems (r= 0.22, p<.01), and total behavioral concerns (r= 0.16, p=.04). After excluding those who do not drink alcohol at all, we found significantly higher perceived stress among DTC parents (M= 27.83, SD= 9.79) compared to non-DTC parents (M= 23.79, SD= 8.40), t(80)= 2.02, p= .02. For children, we found significantly higher aggression scores for children of DTC parents (M= 47.16, SD= 31.69) compared to children of non-DTC parents (M=35.83, SD=25.72), t(84)= 1.83, p= .04. And greater attention problems among children of DTC parents (M= 73.97, SD= 26.77) compared to children of non-DTC parents (M= 56.71, SD= 34.09), t(84)=2.63, p=.01. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Stress and DTC may contribute to negative behaviors in children. An intervention designed to decrease stress and increase adaptive coping mechanism in parents could benefit health child socioemotional and behavioral development. Future analyses will examine third variable effects in the relationship between stress, coping, and child behaviors.