Drinking to cope mediates the link between work-family conflict and alcohol use among mothers but not fathers of preschool children.

Based on the assumptions of emotion regulation theory, this study tests whether drinking to cope mediates the association between work-family conflict (WFC) and alcohol use; an important link missing in previous studies. Based on a sample of 144 fathers and 165 mothers of pre-schoolers in Switzerland, Poisson regression mediation models were estimated. Models were adjusted for other drinking motives, age, and employment level. The results revealed that, among mothers, coping motives fully mediated the effect of WFC on frequency of risky single occasion drinking (IRR direct effect = 0.969, p > .05; IRR indirect effect = 1.043, p < .05) and partially mediated the link between WFC and usual quantity per drinking day (IRR direct effect = 1.181, p < .01; IRR indirect effect = 1.035, p < .05). Among fathers, no effect of WFC on alcohol use was found and consequently no mediation of coping motives. The findings suggest that mothers who drink to cope are at risk of excessive drinking, particularly when experiencing WFC. This puts them at risk for long-term health consequences when the stress and negative affects resulting from WFC are not adequately addressed. Intervention efforts should focus on women who drink for coping motives by providing them with support and non-drinking alternatives.