Parental Rules, Parent and Peer Attachment, and Adolescent Drinking Behaviors

Abstract

Family factors have been widely implicated in the development of adolescent drinking behaviors. These include parental attachment and parental rules concerning drinking behaviors. Moreover, throughout adolescence attachment to parents gives way to attachment to peers, and parental rules about alcohol use become less strict. The present study examined the relationship between parental and peer attachment, parental rules on drinking and alcohol use in a large sample (n = 1,724) of adolescents in the United Kingdom. Controlling for school grade (proxy for age), sex and the non-independence of respondents (clustering at school level) results showed that scores on a parental rules on drinking questionnaire were a significant statistical predictor when comparing moderate drinkers and abstainers, as well as moderate drinkers and problematic drinkers. Scores on both attachment scales were also significant, but only in the comparison between moderate and problematic drinkers, with lower attachment to parents and higher attachment to peers associated with problematic drinking.

Keywords :

• parental rules
• alcohol
• attachment

THE AUTHORS

Dr Michael McKay, MSc, PhD, works at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University. Michael presently manages a large Randomized Controlled Trial funded by the National Institute for Health Research. This trial is assessing the efficacy of a combined classroom and parental intervention targeting adolescent alcohol use.