title: Predictors of Postpartum Change in Alcohol Use in Norwegian Mothers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the relationship between marital status, family size, and postpartum alcohol use from birth to 36 months postpartum, based on data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mothers' self-reported alcohol frequency and alcohol units per drinking occasion at 0-3 months, 4-6 months, 18 months, and 36 months postpartum were modeled using linear mixed models for repeated measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a strong main effect of time on alcohol use, with increases in alcohol use from childbirth to 36 months after childbirth. Adjusting for covariates, there were threeway interaction effects for Time × Family Structure × Family Size for alcohol units and alcohol frequency, indicating that a change in alcohol use varied as a function of family structure and family size. Single mothers had a lower increase in frequency of alcohol use but a steeper increase in the number of alcohol units. However, this effect was less pronounced with increasing family size.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patterns of findings are consistent with a differential opportunity perspective on alcohol use.
authors.affiliation: Competence Centre, Bergenclinics Foundation, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mellingen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Torbjørn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Torsheim
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Practice, Bergen University College, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Frode
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thuen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005190:Family; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult