Given the documented association between paternal alcoholism and parental warmth and sensitivity, the purpose of the current study was to examine one possible mechanism linking the two. To date, no studies have examined these variables longitudinally in a younger sample of children of alcoholics. Such research would be important as it would advance the growing literature on paternal alcoholism and negative parenting during the earliest stages of child development by providing one possible explanation for the association between the two. Findings showed that one pathway is via marital satisfaction: for both fathers and mothers, paternal alcoholism at 12 months was associated with lower levels of marital satisfaction at 24 months which in turn was associated with lower parental warmth and sensitivity at 36 months. The current findings add to the literature on paternal alcoholism and negative parenting by highlighting the important role that the marital relationship can play.
