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Parenting to
Prevent Childhood Alcohol Use
Drinking alcohol undoubtedly is a part of American culture, as are
conversations between parents and children about its risks and
potential benefits.However, information about alcohol can seem
contradictory. Alcohol affects people differently at different stages
of life—small amounts may have health benefits for certain adults, but
for children and adolescents, alcohol can interfere with normal brain
development. Alcohol’s differing effects and parents’ changing role in
their children’s lives as they mature and seek greater independence can
make talking about alcohol a challenge. Parents may have trouble
setting concrete family policies for alcohol use. And they may find it
difficult to communicate with children and adolescents about
alcohol-related issues.
Research shows, however, that teens and young adults do believe their
parents should have a say in whether they drink alcohol. Parenting
styles are important—teens raised with a combination of encouragement,
warmth, and appropriate discipline are more likely to respect their
parents’ boundaries. Understanding parental influence on children
through conscious and unconscious efforts, as well as when and how to
talk with children about alcohol, can help parents have more influence
than they might think on a child’s alcohol use. Parents can play an
important role in helping their children develop healthy attitudes
toward drinking while minimizing its risk.
Alcohol Use by Young People
Adolescent alcohol use remains a pervasive problem. The percentage of
teenagers who drink alcohol is slowly declining; however, numbers are
still quite high. About 22.8 percent of adolescents report drinking by
8th grade, and about 46.3 percent report being drunk at least once by
12th grade.1
Parenting Style
Accumulating evidence suggests that alcohol use—and in particular binge
drinking—may have negative effects on adolescent development and
increase the risk for alcohol dependence later in life. This
underscores the need for parents to help delay or prevent the onset of
drinking as long as possible. Parenting styles may influence whether
their children follow their advice regarding alcohol use. Every parent
is unique, but the ways in which each parent interacts with his or her
children can be broadly categorized into four styles:
Authoritarian parents typically exert high control and discipline with
low warmth and responsiveness. For example, they respond to bad grades
with punishment but let good grades go unnoticed.
Permissive parents typically exert low control and discipline with high
warmth and responsiveness. For example, they deem any grades at all
acceptable and fail to correct behavior that may lead to bad grades.
Neglectful parents exert low control and discipline as well as low
warmth and responsiveness. For example, they show no interest at all in
a child’s school performance.
Authoritative parents exert high control and discipline along with high
warmth and responsiveness. For example, they offer praise for good
grades and use thoughtful discipline and guidance to help improve low
grades.
Regardless of the developmental outcome examined—body image, academic
success, or substance abuse—children raised by authoritative parents
tend to fare better than their peers. This is certainly true when it
comes to the issue of underage drinking, in part because children
raised by such parents learn approaches to problem solving and
emotional expression that help protect against the psychological
dysfunction that often precedes alcohol misuse. The combination of
discipline and support by authoritative parents promotes healthy
decisionmaking about alcohol and other potential threats to healthy
development.
Modeling
Some parents wonder whether allowing their children to drink in the
home will help them develop an appropriate relationship with alcohol.
According to most studies this does not appear to be the case. In a
study of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, researchers observed that students
whose parents allowed them to drink at home and/or provided them with
alcohol experienced the steepest escalation in drinking.9 Other studies
suggest that adolescents who are allowed to drink at home drink more
heavily outside of the home. In contrast, adolescents are less likely
to drink heavily if they live in homes where parents have specific
rules against drinking at a young age and also drink responsibly
themselves. However, not all studies suggest that parental provision of
alcohol to teens leads to trouble. For instance, one study showed that
drinking with a parent in the proper context (such as a sip of alcohol
at an important family function) can be a protective factor against
excessive drinking. In other contexts, parental provision of alcohol
serves as a direct risk factor for excessive drinking, as is the case
when parents provide alcohol for parties attended or hosted by their
adolescents. Collectively, the literature suggests that permissive
attitudes toward adolescent drinking, particularly when combined with
poor communication and unhealthy modeling, can lead teens into
unhealthy relationships with alcohol.
Genetics
Regardless of what parents may teach their children about alcohol, some
genetic factors are present from birth and cannot be changed. Genes
appear to influence the development of drinking behaviors in several
ways. Some people, particularly those of Asian ancestry, have a natural
and unpleasant response to alcohol that helps prevent them from
drinking too much. Other people have a naturally high tolerance to
alcohol, meaning that to feel alcohol’s effects, they must drink more
than others. Some personality traits are genetic, and those, like
impulsivity, can put a person at risk for problem drinking. Psychiatric
problems may be caused by genetic traits, and such problems can
increase risk for alcohol abuse and dependence. Finally, having a
parent with a drinking problem increases a child’s risk for developing
an alcohol problem of his or her own.13
Do Teens Listen?
Adolescents do listen to their parents when it comes to issues such as
drinking and smoking, particularly if the messages are conveyed
consistently and with authority. Research suggests that only 19 percent
of teens feel that parents should have a say in the music they listen
to, and 26 percent believe their parents should influence what clothing
they wear. However, the majority—around 80 percent—feel that parents
should have a say in whether they drink alcohol. Those who do not think
that parents have authority over these issues are four times more
likely than other teens to drink alcohol and three times more likely to
have plans to drink if they have not already started.
Whether teens defer to parents on the issue of drinking is
statistically linked to how parents parent. Specifically, authoritative
parents—those who provide a healthy and consistent balance of
discipline and support—are the most likely to have teenagers who
respect the boundaries they have established around drinking and other
behaviors; whereas adolescents exposed to permissive, authoritarian, or
neglectful parenting are less influenced by what their parents say
about drinking.
Research suggests that, regardless of parenting styles, adolescents who
are aware that their parents would be upset with them if they drank are
less likely to do so, highlighting the importance of communication
between parents and teens as a protective measure against underage
alcohol use.
What Can Parents Do?
Parents influence whether and when adolescents begin drinking as well
as how their children drink. Family policies about adolescent drinking
in the home and the way parents themselves drink are important. For
instance, if you choose to drink, always model responsible alcohol
consumption. But what else can parents do to help minimize the
likelihood that their adolescent will choose to drink and that such
drinking, if it does occur, will become problematic?
Studies have shown that it is important to:
Talk early and often, in developmentally appropriate ways, with
children and teens about your concerns—and theirs—regarding alcohol.
Adolescents who know their parents’ opinions about youth drinking are
more likely to fall in line with their expectations.
Establish policies early on, and be consistent in setting expectations
and enforcing rules. Adolescents do feel that parents should have a say
in decisions about drinking, and they maintain this deference to
parental authority as long as they perceive the message to be
legitimate. Consistency is central to legitimacy.
Work with other parents to monitor where kids are gathering and what
they are doing. Being involved in the lives of adolescents is key to
keeping them safe.
Work in and with the community to promote dialogue about underage
drinking and the creation and implementation of action steps to address
it.
Be aware of your State’s laws about providing alcohol to your own
children.
Never provide alcohol to someone else’s child.
Children and adolescents often feel competing urges to comply with and
resist parental influences. During childhood, the balance usually tilts
toward compliance, but during adolescence, the balance often shifts
toward resistance as teens prepare for the autonomy of adulthood. With
open, respectful communication and explanations of boundaries and
expectations, parents can continue to influence their children’s
decisions well into adolescence and beyond. This is especially
important in young people’s decisions regarding whether and how to
drink—decisions that can have lifelong consequences.
For more information, please visit: www.niaaa.nih.gov.
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