Trends in and factors associated with parental provision of alcohol to minors in Western Australia, 2013–2019

Abstract

Introduction Some parents provide alcohol to their underage children, despite a range of negative outcomes being associated with this practice. The present study aimed to assess factors associated with and changes in parental provision behaviours from 2013 to 2019 in Western Australia. Methods Annual cross‐sectional online surveys were conducted (total n = 2635). Assessed variables included parents' demographic characteristics, alcohol use, awareness of the relevant Australian alcohol guideline, attitudes to parental provision of alcohol and provision behaviours. A binary logistic generalised linear model was used to identify factors associated with parental provision of alcohol. Results Parental provision of alcohol prevalence decreased from 40% in 2013 to 27% in 2019. The following variables were significantly associated with parental provision: permissive attitudes to provision (β = 2.82); older parental age (β = 1.28); a lack of knowledge of the relevant guideline (β = 0.78); survey year (β = 0.083); and greater alcohol use (β = 1.12). Socioeconomic position was not associated with parental provision. Female parents were more likely to report that an adult in the household provided children with alcohol (β = 1.3) Discussion and Conclusions The findings suggest that (i) although still commonplace, parental provision of alcohol to minors in Western Australia has declined over time; and (ii) the effectiveness of campaigns aiming to reduce this behaviour may be enhanced by targeting households with parents who are older and heavier drinkers and by including content that challenges permissive views on alcohol provision to minors.

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

“…Early evaluations have found that these campaigns are likely to influence parents’ discussion of alcohol-related issues with their child(ren), although this did not always result in a reduction of parental supply ( Johnston et al, 2018 ). However, an additional study, recently conducted in Western Australia, found a decline in parental supply of alcohol over the time period 2013–19, corresponding to the implementation of parent-targeted state-wide mass media campaigns ( Booth et al, 2023 ). Importantly, parental supply campaigns may rely on prevalence data to address parents’ perceptions of social norms (i.e.…”