How Parents and Society Encourage, and Could Discourage, Teenage Drinking

Steven Dubovsky, MD

The impact of both local laws holding parents liable for supplying alcohol and parents' beliefs about social norms and behaviors of their own peers

Heavy episodic drinking, which has been reported in 5% of 8th graders, increases to 24% by grade 12. Two studies explore the role of parents, who can be important sources of alcohol for underage drinking.

Researchers surveyed attitudes in 490 parents in Australia and Canada toward providing alcohol to their adolescent children at home (37% of parents) or for unsupervised use (11%). Parents were more likely to supply alcohol at home if they believed that other parents, whether friends or strangers, were doing the same thing. Parents were more likely to supply alcohol for unsupervised use if they felt that their friends had positive attitudes toward supplying alcohol in unsupervised settings and that parents whom they did not know were engaging in this behavior.

To determine how local regulations affect parental supply of alcohol to adolescents, other investigators examined the relationship between local social host (SH) laws, which levy civil or criminal penalties on adult hosting of underage drinking. Participants were 1483 adolescents in an ongoing annual survey in 50 California cities with varyingly stringent regulations. Local SH policies were not associated with overall alcohol use in adolescents or with drinking at parties in those who had not previously used alcohol. Among adolescents who were already using alcohol, the researchers found 20% less underage drinking at parties in cities with the strongest SH policies.

Citation(s):

Gilligan C et al. “Everybody else is doing it” — norm perceptions among parents of adolescents. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2014 Nov; 75:908.

Paschall MJ et al. Relationships between social host laws and underage drinking: Findings from a study of 50 California cities. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2014 Nov; 75:901.