Parent Alcohol Use and Problems in Children’s Alcohol-Related Learning and Subsequent Alcohol Use

Abstract

Background: Alcohol cognitions can emerge early in life and have lasting associations with alcohol use behavior. Observational learning theories suggest that witnessing alcohol use and its consequences may be an important mechanism underlying early development of alcohol cognitions. Parents are among the earliest contributors to children’s alcohol-related learning, although findings regarding the association of parental alcohol use and problems with children’s alcohol-related beliefs and attitudes are considerably mixed. This study tested associations of parent alcohol use and problems with adolescent alcohol expectancies, motives, and subsequent alcohol use to help clarify this literature. Methods: Families (N = 227) comprising family alcohol use disorder cases and demographically matched controls were recruited as part of a longitudinal investigation on child development. Parents reported on their alcohol use and problems at seven assessments throughout the index adolescents’ childhood, and adolescents reported on their own alcohol expectancies in 6th grade, alcohol motives in 8th grade, and alcohol use in 12th grade. Results: Father alcohol problems and mother alcohol use were linked to more positive and less negative child alcohol expectancies, respectively. However, these cognitions did not contribute unique variance in adolescent alcohol use after accounting for additional risks included in the model. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for future research aimed at modeling broader and potentially indirect sources of parent influences on adolescent alcohol-related learning and subsequent drinking behavior.

Keywords:

• Child alcohol expectancies
• adolescent alcohol motives
• parent alcohol drinking
• adolescent alcohol use

Acknowledgments

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful to families who were part of this longitudinal study and to research staff and students who conducted family assessments and project management. The opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice or the National Institutes of Health.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Award 2012-W9-BX-0001, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice and by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health R01 AA010042 and R21 AA021617. Preparation of this article was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under award number T32 AA007583 and K99 AA029728.