This study report has been published by Alcohol Research UK which is based on the first five years of the Belfast Youth Development study which is a Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Drug Use. The findings of this study are of importance to the academic understanding of adolescent development and alcohol use, and to the field of alcohol harm reduction, family support, and youth alcohol policy.
Key findings of the report are:
- Children whose parents exert greater control over their free time activities tend to drink less frequently. Early control has a lasting influence on alcohol use
- Higher rates of drinking in early adolescence leads to reduced levels of parent-controlled boundaries and limits at home
- Being in a school with a higher proportion of frequent drinkers is a risk factor for frequent drinking
- Girls who attend single-sex post-primary schools tend to drink more than pupils attending co-educational schools or male-only schools
The study collected information from young people about the rates of parental monitoring, parental control, parental solicitation and child disclosure and information on frequency of alcohol use (never, rarely, monthly, weekly or more often) across each year. It also collected information on the quality of the parent adolescent relationship.
Last year the think-tank Demos produced a follow up report further emphasising the influence of parenting style on children’s drinking as teenagers and later in life. Read about it here. In 2011 the Joseph Rowntree Foundation also published a report Young People, Alcohol and Influences which took a broader look at influences on young people's drinking.
Drinkaware has a web-page for parents aimed at promoting earlier conversations about alcohol. Further reports and guidance related to children and young people can be found here on the Alcohol Learning Centre, including the CMO guidance which says an alcohol free childhood is best. Last year two reports called for the protection of children from alcohol harm.
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