Gender differences in the supply of alcohol to adolescent daughters and sons

Abstract

Background: Parents are the main supplier of alcohol to children but it is not known whether mothers and fathers equally contribute to the supply of alcohol to their female and male children as these children transition to adulthood. Objectives: i) to determine whether the gender of the parent is associated with the gender of the adolescent offspring when alcohol is supplied and ii) whether the gender of the parent supplying is associated with gender differences in adolescent binge drinking and alcohol related harms. Methods: Longitudinal cohort of 1,927 (males = 1052) Australian adolescents (mean age 12.9 years), recruited in 2010/11 from schools in Australia and surveyed annually for six years. We assessed the association between adolescent and parent gender related to subsequent adolescent drinking, binge drinking (>4 standard drinks), and alcohol-related harms. Results: At mean age of 12.9 years about one in ten children report parental supply of alcohol which increases to about four in ten children by 17.8 years. Mothers consistently more often supply their daughters with alcohol than their sons, [Wave 5 OR 1.77 (1.53,2.05)], while mothers less often supply sons than their daughters, [Wave 5 OR 0.82 (0.71,0.95)]. Mothers' supply of alcohol to daughters predicts substantially increased odds of daughters binge drinking, [OR 1.67 (1.10,2.53)] and experiencing alcohol related harms, [OR 1.65 (1.10,2.48)]. Conclusion:There is a need to involve both mothers and fathers and to equally target female and male children in programs to reduce the harmful consequences of parental supply of alcohol to their children.

Prevalence of parental supply of alcohol to minors: a systematic review

“…Studies that reported prevalence rates for all minors, all found prevalence rates higher for those who were older (indicated by either age in years or school grade) ( Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2011 , 2013 , 2015 , 2017 ; Stafström, 2014 ; Shaw et al, 2018 ); ranging between 32.0 and 38.0% for those who were 15 versus 4.0–8.0% for those who were 11 years old ( Figure 2 ). The Australian Parental Supply of Alcohol Longitudinal Study (APSALS) ( Aiken et al, 2017 ; Mattick et al, 2017 ; Mattick et al, 2018 ; Clare et al, 2019 ; Aiken et al, 2020 ; Boland et al, 2020 ; Clare et al, 2020 ; Najman et al, 2021 ) also found that prevalence rates increased with age from 9.3% in 2010–11 (mean age: 12.9 years) to 10.5% in 2013–14 (mean age: 15.8 years) for all minors who reported parents as their only alcohol source, and from 15.2% in 2010–11 to 45.7% in 2014–15 (mean age: 16.9 years) for those reporting any parental supply (i.e. including those additionally reporting supply via other sources).…”

“…For studies reporting prevalence rates by gender for all minors, four out of eight studies (50.0%) found no significant differences in prevalence rates between male and female respondents ( Danielsson et al, 2011 ; Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2011 , 2013 , 2015 ), two studies (25.0%) found slightly higher prevalence rates in females than males ( Strandberg et al, 2014 ; Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2017 ) and one study found slightly higher prevalence rates in males than females ( Murphy et al, 2021 ). Another study ( Najman et al, 2021 ) reported parental supply separated by age and the individual parent who supplied alcohol (i.e. father or mother); boys reported higher rates of supply compared with girls when alcohol was received from the father.…”

Gender differences in alcohol drinking among adolescents: a school-based survey in China

“…31 A longitudinal study conducted in Australia found that a considerable proportion of children reported being given alcohol by their parents, with the prevalence increasing as children age. 32 While there have been numerous studies investigating the prevalence of alcohol drinking among Chinese adolescents, much of the previous research has focused on eastern or developed regions of China, such as Shanghai and Zhejiang Province. Additionally, the majority of participants in these studies were middle school students.…”

“…In addition, parental alcohol supply is associated with higher rates of alcohol consumption among adolescents 31. A longitudinal study conducted in Australia found that a considerable proportion of children reported being given alcohol by their parents, with the prevalence increasing as children age 32…”

“… 31 A longitudinal study conducted in Australia found that a considerable proportion of children reported being given alcohol by their parents, with the prevalence increasing as children age. 32 …”