A latent growth curve analysis of alcohol-use specific parenting and adolescent alcohol use

Abstract

This study investigates how changes in alcohol use-specific parenting were associated with adolescent drinking trajectories. Three waves of data from a longitudinal study investigating adolescent substance use were used. The community sample (N=378) was aged 10–13 at the first wave of assessment. Our findings show that over time, parents are less likely to discipline their adolescents' drinking, more likely to grant their adolescent permission to drink, and less likely to communicate the consequences of alcohol use. Moreover, these changes are associated with escalation in adolescent alcohol use. Parental efficacy at preventing alcohol use declined, but did not relate to changes in adolescent drinking.

Parent characteristics associated with approval of their children drinking alcohol from ages 13 to 16 years: prospective cohort study

“…parents do less monitoring and permit greater autonomy as their children get older 52,53 . The result is also consistent with research on alcohol‐specific parenting, showing greater permissiveness toward children drinking as they age 22 …”

“…There are, however, some clues from research examining associations between parent characteristics and adolescent risky drinking that suggest candidate variables. Parents are less likely to restrict their children's behaviour and more likely to relent to demands for alcohol as their children grow older 20–22 . Moreover, some research shows that parental approval of sipping alcohol increased as their children matured into adolescence, but that there was no increase in their approval of drinking or drunkenness with the child's age 23 .…”

Reciprocal Associations Between Parental Monitoring Knowledge and Impaired Driving in Adolescent Novice Drivers

“…This finding is in line with findings from a previous longitudinal study on parenting and alcohol use among early adolescents. In that study, Zehe and Colder (2014) found the parents were less likely to restrict their children's drinking or convey the consequences of alcohol use as their children grew older.…”

“…First, elevated parental monitoring knowledge on teen DWI is imperative. Less parental willingness to discipline a risk behavior such as underage drinking (Zehe and Colder 2014) may convey to adolescents a misleading message that that behavior is acceptable or at the least that behavior carries no consequence. Second, sustained parental efforts in monitoring teenager's risk behaviors are needed.…”

Developmental Changes in Secrecy During Middle Adolescence: Links with Alcohol Use and Perceived Controlling Parenting

“…Much like the documented increases in adolescent secrecy, a number of previous longitudinal studies aimed at examining how drinking behaviors change throughout the adolescent years. In general, these studies revealed a linear increase in the frequency of alcohol use (Zehe & Colder, 2014), binge drinking (Mutti-Packer et al, 2017) and alcohol intoxication (Dickson et al, 2015) from early to late adolescence. Although girls are likely to have higher levels of alcohol use in early adolescence, the increase over time is especially pronounced among boys (Chen & Jacobson, 2012).…”