A new study led by Dr. Amelia Arria reviewed 22 studies that examined the association between parents providing alcohol to adolescents and adolescent drinking outcomes and found parental provision was generally associated with increased use of alcohol by adolescents and in some cases higher rates of alcohol-related problems.
Published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in July 2014, Dr. Arria, associate professor of behavioral and community health and director of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the UMD SPH, and colleagues relied on a mix of cross-sectional and longitudinal peer-reviewed studies for their findings.
Noting that parental provision is a complex issue, researchers included studies in their review where parents offered alcohol, allowed underage drinking in the home, supplied alcohol, were present while their children were consuming alcohol, or hosted social gatherings at which underage children and their friends consumed alcohol. On the whole, the evidence suggested that parental provision of alcohol led to increased adolescent alcohol use and, in some instances, increased binge drinking and higher rates of problems stemming from alcohol use.
The authors' messages for parents regarding alcohol provision, include:
- Allowing children to drink underage, even when supervised by the parent, is always associated with a greater likelihood of drinking during adolescence over time.
- Parents should talk to children early about alcohol use expectations and have consistent rules about it.
- "Social hosting" is never a good idea. Parents might believe they are keeping their children and their children's friends safe by allowing them to drink in their home, but adolescents who attend parties where parents supply alcohol are at increased risk for heavy episodic drinking, alcohol-related problems, and drinking and driving.
Dr. Amelia Arria is the Principal Investigator on the NIH-NIDA-funded College Life Study, a longitudinal prospective study of health-risk behaviors among college students. Her research interests include understanding the risk and resiliency associated with underage drinking and illicit drug use, investigating the prenatal effects of maternal drug exposure, and translating research findings for parents and families. She also co-leads the Maryland Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems.
Read the paper, "Providing Alcohol for Underage Youth: What Messages Should We Be Sending Parents?"