parental influence protects students from some of the consequences of alcohol, study says

parents may have a bigger influence on their kids' decisions around alcohol than previously thought, according to a new study.

by dave yasvinski

published nov 02, 2022

3 minute read

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3 minute read

join the conversation

decisions students make around alcohol may relate to their parents

parents need to keep an open mind and commit to an ongoing dialogue about alcohol throughout their child’s post-secondary years and beyond. getty

a new study has found that the average university student experiences a total of 102 alcohol-related consequences — including hangovers, blackouts and missed school — over a four-year period. the research, which was funded by the national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism and published in the journal addictive behaviours, also found that students who think their parents disapprove of the negative consequences of drinking are less likely to experience them.

“we often think of peers as having an influence on drinking behaviors but we found that parents can make a difference — even after their child has left home,” said kimberly mallett, co-author of the paper and research professor at the edna bennett pierce prevention center.

for the study, researchers followed 1,700 students at a large, public northeastern u.s. university for four years. subjects were required to complete surveys on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences twice a year. although the research was confined to a single academic institution in one part of the country, the team believes the findings are likely applicable to all students at all post-secondary institutions.

to parse out parental influence, the team focused on 21 possible consequences from drinking and asked participants how their parents would feel about their child experiencing 12 of them from a list that included blacking out, being hungover or missing school or work.

the team found that students experienced an average of 102 alcohol-related consequences over the course of four years, with the number of consequences increasing alongside the level of consumption. the most common consequence, which was experienced at least once by 96.7 per cent of students, was “having a hangover the morning after drinking.” second-most common was “saying or doing embarrassing things,” which was experienced by 96.1 per cent of students. alarmingly, just under 25 per cent of respondents shared that they had “been pressured or forced to have sex with someone because they were too drunk to prevent it.”

“more than 70 per cent of respondents said they ‘needed larger amounts of alcohol to feel any effect,’ which is concerning because this indicates increased tolerance to alcohol and is an early risk factor for developing an alcohol use disorder,” mallett said.

they also found that students who felt their parents would disapprove of the alcohol-related consequences of a night of drinking were less likely to put themselves in a position to experience them for themselves. “the research shows that parents have an influence on students’ drinking habits and whether they experience problems from drinking,” she said. “kids really look to their parents for guidance in a lot of ways even if they don’t outwardly say it.”

mallet offered a few suggestions to parents who are interested in broaching the subject of drinking with their kids, starting with approaching the conversation from a place of love and concern. this discussion can involve coming up with different approaches to decision-making when drinking scenarios arise at school or brainstorming strategies that prevent a student from getting to a point where alcohol consumption puts them at risk.

most importantly, parents need to keep an open mind and commit to an ongoing dialogue about alcohol throughout their child’s post-secondary years and beyond. “it’s empowering for parents to know that they can make a difference,” mallett said. “for parents who have been permissive about drinking in the past, it’s never too late to switch gears.”

colleges and universities need to play a bigger part, too, mallet said, by developing protocols that better identify and help individuals who may be struggling with alcohol abuse at an early age.

dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca

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