‘I’m not managing it; it’s managing me’: a qualitative investigation of Australian parents’ and carers’ alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has brought significant changes to people’s lives. Research indicates parents and carers faced particular challenges and were one of the few groups reported in survey data to increase their alcohol consumption during the pandemic. Drawing on interviews with 30 Australian parents and carers of young children, and using a family practices approach, we explore how participants considered their alcohol practices as entangled with, or affected by, their family dynamics and their role as carers during the pandemic. Drinking practices during COVID-19 vary across the sample, with some participants increasing their consumption and others reducing it. Participants' accounts show how drinking was constructed as rewarding, pleasurable, and relaxing, while for others it was associated with guilt and heightened stress. The complex reflections on alcohol consumption were shaped by circumstances unique to the pandemic, including an absence of alternative leisure options, new stresses, increased bodily density and sharing of space, and new forms of care/emotional responsibilities. Findings highlight the ways the pandemic aggravated existing tensions, which in turn were shaped by and entangled with their alcohol consumption, and illustrate how consumption may have been productive, potentially with few repercussions for them and their families.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• parents and carers
• family practices
• COVID-19

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge that this project was completed with the assistance of a La Trobe University Social Research Platform Grant. The Centre for Alcohol Policy Research receives core funding from the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE). We thank the participants who so generously gave their time, insights, and experiences.

Ethical approval

This research has been approved by the La Trobe Human Ethics Committee (HEC20192).

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest to disclose.

Notes

1 The lead author who conducted the interviews was located in Victoria where, at the time of the interviews, a strict 5 km travel radius, work from home order and curfew was in place restricting movement.

2 Essential workers had the ability to leave home for work, travel more than 5km and access childcare or schooling for dependents.

Additional information

Funding

AP and SC are supported by Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DE190101074 & DE180100016). MC is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.