The Direct and Indirect Influences of Parenting: The Facets of Time-Perspective and Impaired Control Along the Alcohol-related Problems Pathway

Abstract

Background: Social Learning Theory suggests how one conceptualizes time will be passed from parent to child (Bandura & Walters, 1963). Through the lens of Behavioral Economics Theory (Vuchinich & Simpson, 1998), impaired control may be characterized as consuming alcohol as a form of immediate gratification as a choice over more distal rewards. Because impaired control reflects a self-regulation failure specific to the drinking situation, it may be directly related to time-perspectives. Objectives: This investigation explored whether or not the indirect influences of perceived parenting styles on alcohol use and related problems is mediated by both facets of time-perspective (e.g. hedonism, present-fatalism, future, past-positive, past-negative) and impaired control over drinking. Methods: We examined a structural equation model with 391 (207 women; 184 men) college student drinkers. We used an asymmetric bias-corrected bootstrap technique to conduct mediational analyses (MacKinnon, 2008). Results: Higher levels of past-positive time-perspective were indirectly linked to both less alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems through less impaired control. In contrast, higher levels of present-fatalism were indirectly linked to more alcohol use through more impaired control. Higher levels of father permissiveness and mother authoritarianism were indirectly linked to both more impaired control and alcohol use through more present-fatalism. In addition, higher levels of father authoritarianism were indirectly linked to more alcohol use through more hedonism. Conclusions/Implications: Our results support the notion that drinking beyond one’s self-prescribed limits is associated with time-perspectives related to negative aspects of the parent-offspring socialization process, such as fatalism.

Keywords:

• Alcohol-related problems
• drinking control
• fatalism
• impaired control
• parenting
• time-perspective

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge the generous financial support of the SAIL (Social Addictions Impulse Lab) from the Burton Family Foundation as well as the K01 grant NIH/NIAAA K01AA024160 to Julie A. Patock-Peckham and R21AA023368 to Robert F. Leeman.