Adolescent mental distress was a strong predictor of attention problems, and a moderate predictor of conduct problems. Adolescent mental distress was moreover associated with maternal drinking, and the association between maternal abuse and attention problems was reduced when this variable was added to the analyses. It may therefore be considered a partial mediator for maternal alcohol use on attention problems. Before adjusting for adolescent mental distress, maternal drinking was more strongly associated with attention problems than was paternal drinking. Hence, it may be that maternal drinking has some additional effect on attention problems that is mediated by the adolescents' mental distress. However, most associations were independent of this distress: similar mediation was not seen between paternal drinking and attention problems, and the mediation on conduct seems to be small or non-existent.
