Underage drinking as a natural part of growing up: a UK study of parental beliefs

Drugs and Alcohol Today, Ahead of Print. Purpose Parental beliefs about underage drinking are known to influence the drinking behaviours of their children. The purpose of this paper is to explore parental beliefs about their own child drinking alcohol and young people in general, in order to ascertain whether there is a need to target such beliefs in the design of public health interventions. Design/methodology/approach Parents of 11 –18 year olds attending one of nine schools in the Midlands of England, UK were invited to take part. Participants completed a newly designed 40-item questionnaire measuring parental beliefs about the impact and causes of underage drinking; talking to their child about alcohol; and how much and ho w often they thought their child consumed alcohol. Findings In total, 185 parents took part in the study, reporting on their eldest child aged 18 or under. The majority of parents agreed that underage drinking is detrimental to child health and wellbeing. However, over 60 per cent believed that al cohol consumption is a “natural part of growing up”, and stronger agreement with this belief was associated with higher parental reports of alcohol consumption in their children. Social implications The majority of parents recognised the risks and negative effects of alcohol; however, many als o believe it is a natural part of growing up. Parents may hold conflicting beliefs about underage drinking, which could impact on the drinking beliefs and beha...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - Category: Addiction Source Type: research