A Matter of Rules? A Longitudinal Study of Parents’ Influence on Young People’s Drinking Trajectories

Abstract

Based on longitudinal survey data (2005, 2008, 2015), this paper investigates binge drinking among young people in Denmark. We analyse the relationship between parental alcohol rules in 2005 and the development of their children’s heavy episodic drinking from age 15 to 25/26 using a multilevel approach to repeated measures. Two hypotheses are tested. The first is that young people from families with “strict” alcohol rules have a lower level of binge drinking than young people from families with lenient rules. However, given the cultural pressure on adolescents to drink heavily in Denmark, we also expect parents to face challenges when trying to limit their children’s drinking. Hence, our second hypothesis is that youths with strict alcohol rules at age 15 show the steepest increase in heavy episodic drinking when going from early to late adolescence and thus gradually catch up with young people who had lenient rules. Both our hypotheses are confirmed: Strict alcohol-specific rules are associated with lower rates of binge drinking, but with time young people with strict rules close in on their peers’ alcohol use.

Educational Attainment Polygenic Scores: Examining Evidence for Gene–Environment Interplay with Adolescent Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Use

“…Similarly, past research has shown positive correlations between parental education (which is in part influenced by genetic factors that are passed on to offspring) and adolescent alcohol use (Bachman et al, 1981;Zucker & Harford, 1983). A possible interpretation is that the same genetic factors that give rise to a positive educational environment could contribute to greater access to alcohol in the home as a result of more highly educated parents having more disposable income, a factor that has been found to predict greater adolescent alcohol use (Bellis et al, 2007;Lintonen & Nevalainen, 2017;Østergaard et al, 2018).…”

Analysis of related factors for adolescents’ intention to use alcohol in Korea

“…The factors relating to the family and friends included parental drinking or poor relationships with parents [ 8 , 9 ], parents’ recommendations of alcohol consumption [ 10 ], the number of friends who drank with, frequency of friends’ drinking, and amount of alcohol that they consumed [ 7 ]. Parents’ recommendation to drink in childhood displayed a particularly significant association with an increased likelihood of risky drinking later in adolescence [ 7 ].…”

Does a mindfulness-augmented version of the German Strengthening Families Program reduce substance use in adolescents? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…This research provides a strong rationale for prevention based on family-associated risk and resilience factors [15][16][17]. For example, parents influence their offspring's substance use by their own substance use, by setting alcohol-related rules and norms, and by monitoring children's whereabouts [18]. Moreover, parents contribute substantially to the development of self-regulation, psychological functioning, and adaptive strategies for managing negative emotions [19,20].…”